All In The Waiting
by MajorMutation
Summary: Helga and Arnold are in their senior year, and they see time slipping away, and are still as stubborn as ever. But with the coming of a new student, Arnold starts to see what right in front of him. But is this new guy here to steal her away, or for another reason entirely? AxH!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, I have been writing Castle Fanfiction for about a year now (MjrMutation for those of you who watch Castle.), and have decided to take a stab at writing for Hey Arnold! Simply because it was and still is one of my favorite childhood cartoons, and as I watch the cartoon now that I'm grown up, and actually have a sense of whats going in the subtext and what not, I have a strong feeling that I can make this work.**

**I mean absolutely no offense to those writers who write for this small fandom, but most of the M rated stuff that I have read is written rather childeshly. There are how ever some great ones, but most of them follow the same plot line, with all of the same "twists and turns", that you have come to expect. And for those few of you who know my writing from Castle, you know that I hate to write things that people have written before. That being said, I have decided to take a write a story for Hey Arnold. **

**Summary: It's their senior year at Hillwood High, and the gangs time together is running short, but the love between Arnold and Helga is still unexplored, but when a new guy shows up to school one day, and seems to have his sights set on Helga, will Arnold finally go for it? Or is this new kid there for reasons completely different? **

**Disclaimer: Not mine, what am I doing wrong :(**

* * *

"Hey Pheebs." Helga said, obviously still struggling to rid the sleep that she obviously had trouble getting the night before.

"Hey Helga. Rough night?" Phoebe asked, pulling her AP physics book from her locker and slipping it into her shoulder bag.

"Same as always." She replied. She slumped over to her locker next to her best friend's, and began to do the combination with her eyes half lidded, and her travel mug being hugged against her chest. Helga had traded (threatened) with a freshman to get a locker next to her best friend, and having it be on the top row was just an added bonus.

It was a week into their final year of high school, and they we're beginning to feel it. With some dreading going off to college and leaving the things that they had grown accustom to, while others were practically bouncing off the walls with excitement to finally be rid of it all. But Helga couldn't care less, really. It's just the way things went for her now. Her life had become rather dull as of late. Get up, take a shower, grab a power bar, steel Big Bob's coffee, go to school, suffer through the social ladder, come home, go to bed. She had little motivation, and change was hardly present in her life. Mariam still black out drunk most of the time, Bob always putting work ahead of everything else, she had accepted things as they were a long while ago.

"You look nice today, Helga." Phoebe quipped as she shut her locker. Helga's brow furrowed in confusion as she took in her appearance. She was in her usual denim jeans, converse sneakers, and pink polo T-shirt, with her blonde hair let down, mainly because she didn't feel like doing anything with it. She had long ago ditched her pink dress and matching bow, for something more comfortable, and more fitting with the 'modern woman', so to speak. She still had the bow, mostly for sentimental value, but still, she looked the same as always.

"Um, thanks Pheebs." She shut her locker after tossing her empty travel mug in, grabbing her composite notebook, and a pen.

"So, senior year!" Phoebe threw out as she swung around to lean against her locker.

"Yep, senior year..." Helga said while twirling a finger in the air. "Whoopdy freakin' doo."

"Aren't you excited? We are almost out of high school and onto college."

"Excited? I'm just glad that after June 12th, I'll never have to set foot in this dump again." Helga growled assuming the same position as Phoebe, with her back against her locker.

"What about..." Phoebe averted her worried gaze away from her friend and down the hall, where she could see her boyfriend and his best friend strolling in.

"Who? Football head?" Helga asked. Yes, Phoebe knew. The only reason she did was because in the seventh grade, she had come to Helga seeking advise about her own crush on Gerald. She wasn't surprised, to say the least. But it was still a shocker that Phoebe was asking for help on a relationship. And that's when Helga finally fessed up, all of it. Her massive crush, her total and undying love for Arnold, all of the books and notepads filled with heartfelt poems about him, and about them, some sad, some simply fantasizing a future together. Phoebe had sat down that night and read ever single one. She even showed her her locket, and about how she would sneak away during random times during each day to speak to it in a soft voice so no one would hear, she did however leave out the part about Brainy.

She had long since gotten rid of the shrine, reluctantly if she was being honest. She had decided to spare herself, and ditch her Fatal Attraction like obsession with the boy in the 8th grade. But, there was still a very special, and very big, part of her heart, that still belonged to him, and she still longed for the day when he would reach out and take it, and her along with it.

"Helga, this is our last year, and his. Don't you think you should tell him?" Phoebe said in a low tone, so no one would hear them.

"Tell him what? That I've been madly in love with him since I first saw him when I was three, and have been silently chasing after him for 14 years? Yeah, that should go over real well." She knew sneaking a glance at him would start a chain reaction that would be hard to snap herself out of, but she couldn't help it. She looked.

With a tender sigh that she kept to herself, she let her mind, imagination, and eyes wander. He had grown, and was now about six feet, give or take an inch or two depending on how unnoticeable she was trying to be. His hair had slumped down, and now breezed lightly in front of his forehead, but just above his eyes, and he still had that little hat of his. Today, he was wearing a pair of black denim jeans, black T-shirt, and a button-up plaid shirt that wasn't buttoned. He had stayed skinny over the years, but with his recent activities on the sports teams, she could still see the hidden layer of muscle that played under the thin fabric.

He was walking down the hall with Tall hair boy, clutching a text book in one hand, with the other buried in his pocket, his gaze averted to the ground. Gerald slapped him on the shoulder lightly, and began to jog their way. This, in turn, snapped her out of her daily day dream.

"How's it goin, ladies." He greeted while coming to a light stop in front of Phoebe. "Hey baby." He said to her, as he leaned down with a meek smile on his face to kiss her. Phoebe pushed up on her toes to return the gesture.

"Hey." Phoebe set back down and Helga could have been blinded by the gleam in her eyes, but instead, she simply rolled her eyes to herself, and looked down at her shoes.

"Oh, I got you something." Gerald swung his backpack around and unzipped it and pulled out a paper bag.

"Ooo, thank..." She peered into the bag and pulled out a half eaten chocolate muffin. "Gerald, this is half eaten."

"What? I didn't bite out of it, I used my hands." He replied with a smirk on his face. After being met with a hard glare, he continued. "You know, I could have eaten it all, but Arnold fed me an egg sandwich when I went to pick him up this morning."

"Well... I do like chocolate muffins." She said as she twirled from side to side and looking up at him over her thin glasses. "Thank you, baby." She kissed him again and he took the bag from her to throw away.

Gerald... well, he was Gerald. He was nice, funny, a great match for Pheebs since she was always working too hard on school work, and her extra activities, student council, tutoring, and taking a class at Hillwood University, she needed to be reminded to have fun, and Gerald, while maintaining a 3.7 GPA, was more about fun than anything else. And after being shoved against his locker one day after school, he admitted that if he ever hurt her, he would suffer for longer than he had left to live on this earth.

"How's it goin, Helga?" Gerald asked.

"Would have been better if you'd saved the other half of that muffin." Helga said, watching Phoebe pick at it with her fingers.

"You gotta start eating right, Pataki." That comment was enough to draw her attention, and not in the good way.

"You callin' me fat, Tall hair boy?!" She spat, lunging toward him.

"No! No, I'm just sick of you stealing me food when ever I come to see my girl at lunch, that's all." Gerald waved his hands in front of him in immediate surrender.

"Have you ever tasted stolen food? It's the best." Helga said leaning back against her locker.

He just shook his head. "Well, I gotta get goin. I'll see you at lunch, baby." He leaned back down to steal another kiss from Phoebe and then started down the hall as they watched him go.

* * *

_"_I don't know, Gerald. It's complicated." Arnold said as they rounded the corner of the hall.

"Complicated? What's so complicated about it? You like her, she likes you, why not let the bees buzz with the birds?"

"This is Helga we are talking about here. You know how she is."

"Arnold, you have been pining after Helga ever since little miss froo froo turned to the dark side. Now, this is our senior year, and our last. You need to take a shot while you still have the target in your sights, my man."

"But what if..."

"Ah!" Gerald yelped, interrupting him. "What did I tell you about 'what if's'?"

"Save them for chemistry class."

"Save them for chemistry class." They chanted in unison.

"Arnold, me and Pheebs have been goin strong for about two years now with no end in sight. And if it wasn't for her..." Gerald stopped them as they rounded the last corner, and pointed at the pair rummaging through their lockers, and indicating that he should look at Helga. "Then it wouldn't have happened. Now, Phoebe keeps beating me over the head with this whole 'get them together' thing. And honestly, I'm starting to see what she means."

"And what's that?" He said, not averting his gaze away from her. She was beautiful. She had grown, in all the perfect ways. Her hair hung low, but waved down in a soft tide that, even in the cheap lighting of this school, made it shimmer in a perfect way. Her unibrow had dissipated over a summer during middle school, and he was finally able to see the deep, baby blue that she had in her eyes. It wasn't often, but when she did laugh, really laugh, they would light up enough to eliminate the Mariana Trench. She had grown full breasts, but not enough to wear they were only thing you saw. And she would always wear pants that would hug against her shapely legs, whether she knew it or not. She was... perfect.

"That you guys fit. Don't ask me how, but it just seems like you guys work. Now, Homecoming is in a couple of weeks, and you," He shoved a finger into Arnold's chest. "Are going to ask her." He pointed the same finger to the girl now leaning against her locker with her slender arms crossed.

"Are you sure about this?" Arnold asked him.

"Have I ever steered you wrong?" After eyeing him intently, Gerald spoke up again. "Don't answer that. Look, I gotta give Phoebe this muffin before class, I'll see you later, bro."

"Yeah, later Gerald." Gerald smacked him lightly on the shoulder before jogging toward them.

With the coupling of Gerald and Phoebe at the beginning of sophomore year, Arnold knew that it was inevitable that him and Helga would grow closer, he just didn't know that it would go this slow.

Ever since Lila had entered high school, she had shed her 'ever so' sweet persona, and developed an evil, accusing way of only caring about how she was seen, and who she was seen with, and as a freshman, Arnold didn't make the cut. But once he reached his second year, and had grown used to the vastly different high school way, Lila had come back, batting her eye lashes, squeezing her boobs together, and puffing her shallow lips out to him. But by then, he wasn't interested.

Looking back on it now, he knew why.

Maybe Gerald was right. Maybe it isn't so complicated. Maybe he should just ask her, what's the big deal right? Just walk up to her, and say 'Hey Helga, will you go to Homecoming with me?'. Simply right? Just then, he saw her lung out toward Gerald in her tough, take no crap from anyone, persona. Oh yeah, that's why.

He looked down at his shoes, and went over to his locker.

If only, if only...

* * *

**A/N: So, this is obviously my first fic for Hey Arnold. But I'm hoping that it will not be my last. I am mainly doing this because with Castle, I have to write the characters a certain way. And it bugs me. But with this. I am free to imagine how the characters grow up. And I have always loved Helga's character. It reminds me so much of Lois Lane from Smallville. So if you need a voice in your head for her, then use Erica Durance ;) **

**I would really appreciate ****REVIEWS! **

**~Major**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:Sorry for the delay, with the Castle finale and all, it's been a crazy week for the fandom. Anyway, I'm going to introduce a character in this chapter, and I really hope you like him. He will play a huge part in this story. And I sort of based him on myself, or at least how I wish I was. I have taken parts of my own past, and used it in this story, but only bits and pieces. I will not tell you which parts are from my life and which are from my imagination. **

**Anyway. Disclaimer: Still not mine... crap.**

* * *

Watching Gerald and Phoebe together, Helga always felt very, _very_, green with envy. Not of Phoebe, god no. Gerald was so far from her type it wasn't even funny. She was envious of them. How they were together. It seemed so effortless between each other. Like they didn't have to try to make it work. It just did. Like they were just each others missing half's or something. And being the closet romantic, and some what of a hopeless one at that, she did believe that Phoebe had found her soul mate, even if she, as the critical thinker that Phoebe was, would totally disagree, saying that there was no such thing, that she simply loved Gerald and that was enough, and not chalking it up to the fact that their 'souls' were 'destined' to be together. Helga, on the other hand, was pretty sure of it.

After all, they have been voted class couple before they were actually a couple. Freshman year, they were shocked, to say the least, when someone from the yearbook came up to them during lunch to take their photo for the yearbook as class couple. They both insisted that they were not a couple, denying it profusely, but the public had spoken. It was this that eventually got them to take the leap.

...Okay, so Gerald might have been standing on the cliff and Helga just happen to be behind him and give him a soft, gentle, thrust in the right direction. She still hated the fact that Gerald needed to basically be knocked over the head to finally get the guts to ask Phoebe out on an official date. It felt as if he needed to borrow a piece of her back bone because he left his at home, if he had one.

But, that secret will stay forever between the two of them, and will never enter the ears of her best friend. Knowing that Gerald might not have ever asked her out if it wasn't for Helga's certain way of getting through to people, it might start a downward spiral that couldn't be stopped until it ended. And Helga would never forgive herself if she was the reason for her best, and some times only friend lost her happiness.

She still couldn't figure out why she could force someone to take the leap of faith towards their feelings, but not herself. Her and Arnold were in such an awkward phase. She could tell that he always chose his words too carefully when ever she was around. Sometimes, she could even tell he was holding back his physical gestures, such as crossing his arms, or rubbing the back of his neck. He was usually just still, and they hardly conversed. Sure, they spoke to each other, they were civil, but they were _just _civil. Ever since he had broken up with Cecilia, he acted very differently around her.

Cecilia was... bouncy. Not in the physical aspect. She was just too bubbly. There was hardly a time where she didn't have a smile plastered on her face. Even when Helga walked in on them breaking up after just four months, her smile then was sad, but a smile non the less. Helga had lent a listening ear toward Arnold, and a shoulder for him to cry on, but, to her demise, that never happened. Arnold had told her that their relationship was shallow. There wasn't anything there, no substance, and she understood completely. She had faced the same problem. Sometimes, when you get to know someone, you hope and wish that there's more there, more to explore, but most often, there never was.

She had dated a select few guys, the first one mainly to see what being in a relationship was like, but with Derrik, it sucked. Why she chose to say yes to that JV jock her freshman year was beyond her. The second guy was just because, well... just because. She didn't want to say it was because she was bored, and Arnold had been taken, but, it was. The second guy was a loner, much like herself. She had thought he was a deep thinker, an 'ice burg', but, she was wrong. He was just a face in the background. She hadn't been in a relationship since then, which had been well over two and a half years ago.

All he had to do was just give her a chance, just one chance, to show him, and maybe, if the lighting was bad enough, he'd like what he saw in her. Maybe, but, he's Arnold! He's practically Hillwood Highs own personal mother Teresa, minus the nun outfit. The word selfish wasn't in his vocabulary. What was were things like 'let me get that for you', and 'do you need any help with that', or 'after you'. He was the nicest guy this side of the northern hemisphere. And she was just... Helga Geraldine Pataki. A face in the background.

Phoebe bumped her side indicating that she was about to head to homeroom, and that she should do the same. But not before _they _made their daily march down the hall.

Rhonda, Lila, Nadine, and Rhonda's marionette of a boyfriend, Jason, typical captain America with perfect everything, but with less personality than a soda can. With Rhonda leading the march down the hall, getting the usual amount of stares. Whether they were good or bad made no difference to them, as long as they were getting attention. Helga simply looked over at them from her place against her locker, with a dull expression on her face, and pictured them tripping over themselves in her head, hoping to herself at the same time that they wouldn't look at her.

They were just passing Arnold's now abandon locker when a boy passed in front of her. He didn't look at all familiar. He was tall, a little taller than she was. He wore worn down denim jeans, a plain black T-shirt, that upon second glance, showed off his some what broad shoulders. With his attention down on to his open notebook in his hands, his eyes covered by a small, black ascot cap, he was headed straight into the lion's den. And Helga couldn't help but watch this event play out. Rhonda never parted for any one.

As Rhonda and her 'posy' came to a halt, so did he, his attention still on the notebook in his hands. He looked up with a questioning look on his face, and as his face came into light, Helga noticed that he had a goatee, with slight sideburns coming a little past his ears. Most guys who grew facial hair in high school always did it horribly, but it seemed that this guy was the acceptation to that. He wore it well.

Rhonda had her arms crossed, and her hips cocked off to one side, as she gave the guy a scowl. "You can move now." Rhonda spoke to the boy blocking her way.

"Or... you can just go around." The boy spoke in a low voice.

"You first." Rhonda spat.

"And if I refuse?"

Rhonda simply narrowed her perfectly done eye lashes down at him and deepened her scowl. "Do you know who I am? I am Rhonda Wellington Lloyd."

"That's nice, can you move now?" The boy spoke after a moment of pause.

"I don't take orders from people like _you_."

"Listen, Barbie Doll..." This caused a small snorted chuckle to escape Helga. _Why didn't I think of that one?_ She thought to herself. He slapped his notebook closed and brought it down to his side. "I know this will be hard for you, but I need you to take your nose out of the air and meet me at eye level long enough for you to hear what I'm about to say. Do you think you can do that?"

"Wait a..."

"Good." He interrupted her. "I don't know who you are, and after conversing with you for all of," He stopped to look at his wrist, miming looking at a watch, "a minute and a half, I really don't care to. So please, if you could take your self entitled ass, and move it out of my way, I would really appreciate it."

"Who do you think you are!" Rhonda spat in fury.

"I believe you're going to be late for class." He replied in a calm voice. They engaged in a stare down for a moment, before Rhonda finally broke and let out a groan of frustration, past her clenched teeth, and stomped angrily around him, with the rest following suit. He just stood there, with a stoic posture, not even flinching when a door slammed against a wall further down the hall. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment, but when he turned back, he had caught Helga staring at him. He held it only for a fraction of a second before he gave the slightest hint of a smirk and continued down the hall.

"Wow, no one has ever stood up to Rhonda like that." Phoebe whispered, still standing next to her, caught in the middle of it all.

"Except me, but it didn't get to her as much. It looks like he really did a number on her." She watched as his broad figure calmly sauntered down the hall. "Hey you!" Helga called out. He visibly slowed his pace, but didn't turn around, instead, kept walking. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Helga called out once more, this time, quickly taking a few large steps out to place a hand on his shoulder to draw his attention.

"Oh I know." He said, finally turning around, but kept walking backwards. "But I'd really prefer to talk to some one who bothers to ask me my name. If you haven't noticed, I really don't care for stuck up people." He said, raising a hand down toward the hall way that Rhonda had stomped down just a minute ago.

Helga was taken back to say the least. He was obviously new. Helga knew every one in the school, and she had never seen him before. If she had, she would have noticed him for sure, especially with the attitude he had. He turned back around, and picked up his pace again, before turning the corner to head to class.

"He must be a new student." Phoebe said, still next to Helga.

"Yeah." Helga replied quietly. She was impressed. No one had ever taken down Rhonda that quickly, and no one had ever been so fearless in the face of Helga G. Pataki yelling at them, not only that, but to be so calm to dismiss it all. She shook her head to break her thoughts. "We should get to home room." Helga and Phoebe turned around to head to homeroom in silence. They walked into class and took their normal seats. Rhonda was sitting in her seat on the left side of class, her arms crossed, with a scowl that could give Helga a run for her money, and angrily tapping the toe of her heals on the ground. Arnold sat a few seats in front of Helga, but luckily, Harold, with his humungous build, blocked Helga's view of him, and most of the class at that. He leaned over to his left, near Rhonda.

"Is everything okay, Rhonda?" Helga had to fight to swoon. _Oh so caring, even to a spawn so evil as Rhonda. Will your giving and selflessness ever cease to amaze me, my love? _Helga's mood changed when she heard Rhonda spit her answer out at him.

"Everything _fine,_ Arnold!" Obviously taking the hint to back off, Arnold simply nodded and leaned back in his chair. Tightening her fists into tight balls around her notebook, Helga again fought an urge, but this one was not to jump out of her seat and throttle that prissy for talking to him like that. But then, she had talked to him like that for the first, seven, eight, _why did I treat him so poorly, and still continue to do so? He's the love of my life and I haven't even gotten a chance to experience it! _As the bell rang loudly, Helga visibly jumped out of her seat at the sudden noise.

Dr. Morrison stood up out of his seat, walked over to the door, and closed it. "Okay, class. First things first, attendance." Dr. Morrison put his small reading classes on, and picked up the sheet, when the door opened. Dr. Morrison looked over to the door above his glasses, to see an unfamiliar face walk through. Unfamiliar to him, but familiar to three people in the room, Helga, Phoebe, and Rhonda, who immediately began to try and set him ablaze with her eyes. He came in, with a friendly, but some what nervous smile on his face, walked up to the teacher after closing the door behind him, and handed Dr. Morrison a small piece of paper.

The conversed quietly amongst themselves before Dr. Morrison turned back to the class. "Everyone, this is Ian Rodgers. He's here joining us all the way from California. Make him feel welcome, class." Rhonda scoffed, and turned her head out to stare out the window. "You can take the empty seat next to Helga, in the back, Ian. Helga!" Dr. Morrison called.

"Yeah, doc?"

"Would you be so kind as to show Ian around the school, make sure he knows where he's going, make him feel at home. He has a lot to get used to here on the east coast."

"You can count on me, doc." Helga said, while he took his seat next to her.

"And for the last time, Helga, call me Dr. Morrison." A few stifled chuckles were heard as Dr. Morrison straightened his glasses and looked back down at his roll sheet. Class ended with a bell an hour later. Helga stood up, and picked up her note book, and turned to the boy now standing next to her, gathering his own things.

"So, what's your next class?" Helga asked.

"Um, Economics." Ian said looking down at his schedule.

"With who?"

"Mr. Anchore."

"No kiddin'? That's my next class. Follow me, kid." Helga said while quickly making her way out into the hall way. "It's just a few hall ways down this way." They made their way slowly down the hall way, making their way to economics. "I've got to hand it to you, you really stuck it to Rhonda this morning." Helga said genuinely.

"Who, Barbie Doll?" Ian asked. "I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"Oh trust me, it's a big deal. She'll probably threaten you with the old 'I'll have my daddy fire your daddy' routine."

He averted his gaze down to the floor. "Yeah." He spoke just about a whisper. They walked past a few more doors when he spoke up again. "You a Bad Religion fan?"

Helga stopped suddenly. She usually had to tell people of her interest in punk rock and some metal music, no one around here listened to the music she listened to, and she was surprised to meet some one who could pick up on that with out having a hint. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Your shoes." He pointed down to the ground where she had written on the lyrics of one of her favorite songs on the toes of her converse sneakers. "Hooray for me and fuck you. That's a good song."

Helga started walking again, still in a state of slight shock to meet some one who actually knew the lyrics to an old punk rock song, much less know one at all. "Yeah, it's an awesome song. I got in trouble for writing 'fuck' on my sneakers but, after a day in ISS they got over it." They had reached their class and Helga pointed him inside. She went to sit down in her seat, while Ian went up to the teachers desk. Class came and went per the usual. When class ended and the bell rang yet again, Helga stood up and went over to Ian, whom had been placed on the other side of the room, and asked him what his next class was.

"Uhm, English 4, Ms. Lacey." Helga froze slightly, that was one of Arnold's classes. Yeah, so she had his schedule memorized, so what? She had Phoebe's memorized too!

"Well, my next class is on the other side of the school, but for Ms. Lacey's room, you want to head up the stairs, hang a right, and it's the second door on the right. If you get lost, just look for the guy with the foot ball shaped head. He'll help you." _Help you? He'll probably polish your shoes if you ask him to. _The only reason she thought that to herself was because they had been walking to class together one day last year and she had mentioned that she needed a new pair of shoes, and he had offered to polish her shoes for her. She knew he was kidding, and just trying to get her to laugh, but if she had took him up on his offer, she had no doubt that he would have done it.

"Who, Arnold?" Ian asked.

"You know his name?"

"Yeah, he sat a few desks up from me in first period this morning."

"Good memory. Anyways, yeah, that's him. He's the nicest guy you'll ever meet."

"Thanks, Helga." He said as he took off down the hall and up the stairs.

* * *

Arnold's day had gone like any other so far. Thank god that Dr. Morrison placed Helga out of his field of vision during first period, and put Harold in between them, acting like a Berlin Wall of sorts. He'd probably fail the class if Helga had Rhonda's seat. He was surprised to see a new student arrive at Hillwood though. They haven't had a new student in a really long time. He seemed like a good guy, he had a sort of calmness to him, he seemed very laid back, much like himself. Second period Algebra came and went, per the usual. He had a feeling this was going to be a very long year. But luckily, he had English with Gerald next period, they usually found time between Ms. Lacey's bathroom trips to goof off. Walking down the hall, seemingly lost in thought as he always was, he was brought out of his trance by the new student standing in front of Ms. Lacey's class, looking at what seemed to be his schedule, and into the room. Arnold quickly approached him.

"Hey, Ian right?" Arnold greeted, extending a hand.

"Yeah, it's Arnold isn't it?" Ian replied in a friendly tone and shaking his hand firmly.

"Yeah, Arnold Shortman. You in Ms. Lacey's English class?" Arnold asked, nodding towards the door.

"So it would seem. Helga said if I get lost, just look for the guy with the foot ball shaped head, but..." Ian's sentence fell flat as he squinted his eyes. Arnold had grown into his head, and it was now a shape that mirrored that of his mother Stella's.

"Oh yeah, football head is kind of her... nick name for me. She's been calling me that since we were kids." Ian simply nodded, and Arnold began to look over his shoulder for Gerald, when he suddenly appeared at his side.

"Sup Arnold." As he extended his hand for their handshake, clasping their fingers together and wiggling their thumbs together.

"Gerald, this is Ian. He just started and he's in English with us."

"Really? You got lucky man. Ms. Lacey is one of the easiest teachers we got here at Hillwood." Gerald said, extending his hand out to Ian for him to shake it firmly.

"I guess I should count myself lucky then." Ian said as he followed Arnold and Gerald into class. Ian went up to the front desk and handed Ms. Lacey his schedule, and she motioned for him to take a seat in the back, and oddly enough, it was right next to Arnold. Arnold smiled at him as he sat down, and Ms. Lacey went up to the front of the class as the bell rang.

"Greetings class. As some of you may have noticed, we have a new face joining us today. His name is..." Ms. Lacey hung her hands out to him, gesturing for him to tell the class his name.

"Ian Rodgers."

"Ian Rodgers! And from whence do you hail Ian Rodgers?"

Ian gave her a confused look, which caused Arnold to let out a small chuckle, before he continued. "Santa Rosa, California." The class 'Ooo'd' at him, before Ms. Lacey spoke above it.

"Ahh, wine country! What brings you to our humble little prairie of Hillwood?"

"Family needed to move for work." He said simply.

"Well, never the less, we are very happy to have you grace us with your presence Ian. Now, class, take out your copy of A Catcher in the Rye, and turn to the beginning of chapter two, please. Ian, you can simply scootch over towards Arnold there, and share with him for today, we'll have a book for you tomorrow." Arnold smiled once again towards Ian and began to move his desk towards him. Class came and went with little conversation between anyone, with Ms. Lacey taking too long with the story of Holden Caulfield. As class ended, Arnold swung his back pack around his shoulder, and turned around to Ian.

"You know where you're headed to next?"

"Uhm, I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of the music room, could you?" Ian asked, as he collected his things.

"Sure thing. Just head down stairs, past the cafeteria, and it's at the very end. You'll know Mr. Meredith when you see him."

"Thank, man. Helga wasn't kidding, was she?" Ian asked as he made his way out into the hall way.

"What do you mean?" Arnold asked nervously at the sudden mention of Helga, making a nervous cold sweat break out over him.

"She just told me that you were the nicest guy she's ever met. Looks like she was right. Thanks again for the help, Arnold." He said as he turned around to make his way down the stairs.

"What was that all about?" Gerald asked, just coming out of the class room.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Come on, we gotta get to Economics."

He walked with Gerald with little conversation being made between the two best friends. _Did she really say that? Did she really, truly, openly admit that I was the nicest guy she's ever met? She's always picked on me for it. But here she was, holding me up to some one whom she had just met. Since when did Helga Pataki pay a compliment to anyone? _He was brought out of his thoughts upon entering Economics. He sat in class the next hour, being attacked by his thoughts. Helga always seemed to be split some how. When they were little, she had seemed to make it her soul purpose to make his life hell, but then there were times when he saw a different Helga, one that he had always told her was there. A softer side, a caring side, a side that could let him in. No one believed him when he told them that Helga was a good person, that she just wasn't in a place in her life where she could show it, but he believed it, with out a shadow of a doubt. He knew it was there, he has seen it.

He just needed to bring it back out for the world to see, and if not the world, then just him.

* * *

**A/N: Please let me know what you think of Ian. He is going to be a major part of this fic. and if you don't like him them I'm pretty well screwed. You're not going to like him this next chapter, especially if you ship Arnold and Helga as much as I do, but, with the chapter after that, you'll grow to like him again, or for the first time.  
**

**Anyway. _REVIEW PLEASE!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: still not mine. **

* * *

Phoebe walked into the music room for fourth period, greeting Mr. Meredith on her way in. "Greetings, Mr. Meredith!" Phoebe said, taking her usual seat in the front row of chairs.

"Hello, Ms. Heyerdahl!" Mr. Meredith said getting up from the grand piano that sat at the front of the room. "How are you this fine day?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Meredith."

"Well, that is very good to hear." Phoebe saw Ian, the new student, walk into the music room, and hand Mr. Meredith a piece of paper. "AH! Yes, I was told about you. I am suppose to give you a test to see where your at, am I not?"

"I think so, yeah." Ian said.

"Well then, follow me, if you would." Ian followed Mr. Meredith into his office before they came out and he motioned for Ian to sit down in any seat that was available. "Now, take your time. I don't expect you to be able to answer all the questions. Just answer what you can so I can see where your at in your knowledge of music theory."

Ian began working on the page, his attention so focused as Phoebe watched him. His focus was so set on the two page evaluation in front of him, he didn't even stop when the bell rang. By the time Mr. Meredith came back out of his office a few minutes after the bell had rung, Ian stood up, and handed Mr. Meredith the packet, and began to look over it.

"Alright, let's see here..." He turned the page over to look over the second sheet. "Wow." Phoebe watched as Mr. Meredith's expression changed to a look of utter surprise. "Not a single question missed. This packet was to be this classes semester final, and you completed it in less than 4 minutes." Ian simply shrugged in modesty.

"I'm going to suggest to the principal that you be placed in my AP class. I'm sure you could give those guys a run for their money. I'm very impressed with your skills, Ian. I haven't even gotten to parallel minors in my AP class yet, let alone melodic minor. Excellent work. You can just sit through today's class for now, but tomorrow, you will come to this class next period instead of this period. You will get an updated schedule by the end of the day." Mr. Meredith cheerfully extended a hand out to him, and smiled brightly at him before Ian returned to his seat. Class went on, and Ian payed little attention as Mr. Meredith continued his lecture on keys. By the time class ended, Phoebe was exhausted. She only took music theory as an elective. Music never came naturally to her, but she tried her best.

Phoebe then took it upon herself to officially greet Ian and welcome him to Hillwood. She walked up to him as he gathered his things. "Hi, my name is Phoebe." She said, coming to a stop in front of him.

"Oh hey, you're Helga's friend, right?" Ian said.

Phoebe looked at him confused for a second. "Yes, I am. How'd you know that?"

"I saw you two standing together at your lockers this morning, and just assumed by the way you two were talking that you two were friends."

"Oh." Phoebe said quietly.

"Well, I better get to my next class." Ian started out towards the hall.

"Do you know where you're going?" Phoebe asked following him out.

"I'm pretty sure, it's Algebra two with Ms. Powers."

"Oh! My boyfriend, Gerald, is in that class." Phoebe quipped cheerfully.

"Gerald's your boyfriend? Well, I guess I know who to look for then."

"You know him?"

"Yeah, I have English with him and Arnold. Anyway, I better get going." Ian took off down the hall and rounded the corner.

"Seems very observant." Phoebe mumbled to herself.

* * *

Gerald walked down the hall, in a state of bliss as he thought of his inevitable 'study date' with his girl tonight, and the fact that he was only one period away from lunch, where he could see her again. He sometimes hated the fact that she took mostly AP classes, because he, in turn, had no classes with her, but they were lucky enough to have the same lunch together. He rounded the corner to the hall where his math class was, and sauntered into the class room, where he saw the new kid standing at the desk. Gerald didn't know him very well, and he seemed like a nice enough guy, and Hillwood hasn't had a new face around town in a really long time. He walked up to him after he was handed back his schedule. "Hey man, you in this class too?"

"Yeah, looks like it, but not for long. Word is my classes are changing tomorrow."

"Already? You've been here one day." Gerald said, making his way to his seat.

Ian simply shrugged and took an empty seat. Class came and went, and they were soon released for lunch. By the time the class reached the cafeteria, it was packed. Ian simply sat at the edge of a table, took out his composition notebook, and began to scribble away inside of it. Gerald walked over to her usual table, where Helga, Phoebe, and Eugene already sat. Eugene was still a bit socially awkward, but he had developed a more normal fashion sense, always opting for slacks and a polo, and tennis shoes, instead of his socks and sandles look he had in elementary. Gerald set his things in the empty seat next to Phoebe and went up to the lunch line.

"I heard he punched Sid's light out." One girl in front of him whispered.

"I just heard he threatened to knock him out." The other said.

"It's weird, Arnold is always so nice." At the mention of his best friend, Gerald froze at the context of which they were putting him in.

"Hey, what'd you hear about Arnold?" Gerald asked the two sophomores in front of him.

The two girls turned around. "Apparently, Arnold yelled at Sid during first lunch. From what I hear, he was about to put him in the hospital."

"No way, Arnold wouldn't hurt a fly that was tryin' to mug him. You got your stories mixed up."

Gerald made his way through the lunch line and went back to his table, still bothered by what he had heard. He set his tray down first before climbing into the table. By the time he sat down, a handful of his fries were missing, and he saw Helga simply reading form her notebook, and popping fries into her mouth. He simply shook his head. "So, did you guys hear anything about Arnold lately?"

"No, why?" Phoebe asked.

"Some sophomores in the lunch line told me that he told Sid off for something. Said he was about to knock his lights out. You guys know anything about it?" Gerald asked, unwrapping his sandwich. Everyone shook their heads and continued eating. A few minutes passed by in silence, before Helga spoke up, having just finished off Gerald's stolen fries.

"Heads up guys. Princess is on the move." They followed her gaze to where they could see Rhonda stalking her way across the lunch room, with an angry scowl on her face. Helga stood up and began to make her way over there.

"Helga, where are you going?" Phoebe asked.

"He's new, and he already had to deal with her highness once today. That's enough for anyone person." _Yeah, right, you know you're going over there to watch him rip her a new one. _Helga moved across the lunch room towards the table where she saw Ian sitting at, just before Rhonda sat down across from her, standing just out side of ear shot, she watched, and listened.

"If you're looking for your pride, I'm pretty sure the lost and found is in the office." Ian told her, not looking up from his notebook.

"Listen here, new kid. No one treats me like that. I demand an apology."

"I only apologize if I'm sorry for doing something and... I just can't think of anything." He said, finally looking up at her.

"I would watch what you say, I'm very influential in this town."

"Oh, you know, I would give you one, but..." He began patting his palms against his person, as if in search of something. "But I'm all out of fucks." He said over a comical shrug of his shoulders. Helga let out a stifled laugh from where she was perched against a wall watching them.

"I will make you regret this!"

"Tell me, Rhonda," Ian said, closing his notebook calmly. "How much of a sweat did you break asking for daddy's visa gold this morning? You think that you rule this school? You think your social status and your popularity matter out in the real world? Well, guess what, Malibu Barbie, you're going to graduate, and go out into the real world, where nobody will ever notice you, where nobody congratulates you every time you do something good, where you...don't... matter." Rhonda stared at him for a moment. "The best you can hope for is to ditch this 'I'm better than everyone else' attitude now while you still have a chance." Rhonda got up and stomped angrily back to the other end of the lunch room. Helga made her way back to her own table, and sat down. This Ian kid really was something else.

Upon sitting down, Helga noticed that she was getting rather unusual stares. And it began to bother her, as they were coming from Gerald, and Phoebe. "Okay, what is it?"

* * *

Arnold walked into the lunch room, and got in line to get his food. He really hated the fact that he had first lunch, and basically every one else had second lunch. He had a few _old _friends that were in this lunch, old meaning they had grown up, but not matured. One of whom was Harold, he was a lovable loaf, but only lovable if you were either drunk and high, and very, very desperate for attention. Stinky was just a follower, he didn't really have any unique opinions of his own... then there was Sid.

Sid was the one type of person that Arnold despised the most. The one type of person that made Arnold neglect his inherent pacifistic nature. The one type of person that made his blood boil to no end.

Sid was a womanizer.

Sure, girls said he was "sexy", but that's all he cared about. All he cared about was 'getting laid', where as Arnold found sex to be a meaningful thing, that it was suppose to be something much more than just an action, it was suppose to be two people who loved each other coming together to express their deep emotions in a physical way. But to Sid, women were just there for sex. Arnold tried to avoid him at all costs.

Arnold sat down at his usual table with some of the band kids, and ate his lunch, when Sid sat down across from him. "Hey Arnold."

"Hey Sid." Arnold greeted unenthusiastically.

"So, I heard your thinking of asking Helga Pataki to homecoming."

Arnold looked up from his try over at Sid. "Um, thinking about it, yeah." How Sid knew this was beyond him, but Arnold decided to let it go, no one took credit in what Sid said anyway.

"That's a good call man, she's pretty hot."

"Yeah." He said flatly.

"Back when, I wouldn't go near her with a ten foot pole, but now... wow man, I'd go near her and then some." Arnold rolled his eyes at Sid's innuendo.

"Sid..."

"Come on, man, you gotta admit, that she's hot. I've been thinking of making a move myself."

"Sid!" Arnold said, an edge of warning coming into his voice.

"And with her attitude, she's probably a dynamo in bed..."

"**SID!**" Arnold yelled, quickly standing up from the table and leaning over him. "You say one more word about Helga and I'll sow your mouth shut!" Arnold barely realized that the entire lunch room had grown quite at Arnold's outburst, and everyone in the room had heard every word. Arnold quickly grabbed his backpack, leaving his tray untouched on the table, and ran out the door.

He leaned against the door, and let his frantic heartbeat slow down, placing a hand on his forehead. Sid actually had him seething inside. To talk about a person like that, let alone some one like Helga, it was... wrong. She deserved more than that, there was _so _much more to Helga than just a body. Realizing what he had just done, dread suddenly washed over him, Helga was in his next class, worse yet, she was his biology partner. What was she going to do if she found out about this? This was high school we're talking about! Word travels fast.

* * *

"He what?" Helga asked Sheena, making sure she heard her right.

"I was right there, Sid was talking about you, and all of the sudden, Arnold shot up and told him that if he said another word about you, that he'd sow his mouth shut. Then he stomped out." Sheena worked in the cafeteria to help out her family after her father had gotten laid off due to the economy, and she was trustworthy. Which was kind of bad, since this meant a lot of good, and bad things for Helga.

_What was he thinking! I'm not some Cinderella that needs a prince to rescue me! I have a reputation around here! _

_Oh come off it! Arnold, the golden haired god, the boy you love with all your heart just stood up for you! This is a dream of yours come true! Embrace it as it is! _

"Thank you Sheena." Phoebe said, noticing Helga's confusion. After Sheena had retreated to the back, Phoebe looked back over at Helga. "So..."

"That actually explains a lot." Gerald said.

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked.

"If there's one type of person Arnold can't stand, it's a womanizer, and Sid is about as bad as they come."

_What am I going to do! He's my partner for biology next period! How am I suppose to keep my hands off of him after this? I don't know whether to punch him in the face for this, or tackle him to the ground and... _

The bell rang, and the lunch room roared to life, with students getting up to head to class. Helga made her way to Biology on auto pilot, but was brought out of it when she saw Arnold sulk into the room, looking rather forlorn. She took a deep breath and made her way into the room, sitting next to him at the black table on the stool. She got out her book and stared at it, waiting for the bell to ring.

_This is going to be hell._

* * *

**A/N: I will go into this situation between Arnold and Helga in the next chapter. I just didn't want to make this too long. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:First off, I would like to say that I'm flattered. Since I based Ian Rodgers on myself, using my own outward appearance, and my own viewpoints, opinions, and vocabulary, saying that you guys like him really means a lot to me. So thank you! **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

* * *

Fifth period had gone too fast for Arnold, knowing what was to come from the next class. He had hoped that Algebra would go slowly, as it usually did, but every time he chanced a glance at the clock, he was too close to the time where he would have to go to sixth period. When the bell rang, nervousness sprang through him. It didn't help that word had spread like wildfire of Arnold's uproar during lunch. Everyone gave him a double take in the hall, snickering to themselves, and pointing an accusing finger at him and giggling. _What have I done?_ His face sunk downward as he slumped into biology and sat at their table near the back. When he got out his textbook and binder and set it in front of him, he took a few steadying breaths that did nothing but up his already skyrocketing pulse.

He didn't have to look up to know she had entered the room. He could feel it. Sort of a sixth sense he had developed early on, at first to warn him of impending danger, now to tell him when not to say something stupid and idiotic. But unfortunately, it had decided to switch itself off during lunch. What was he suppose to do? Let Sid talk about Helga like that behind her back? She was his... friend.

She sat down next to him, and placed her notebook gently down on the table, not saying a word. With out looking, or moving, he tried to make out what her mood was by all of his other senses. She didn't slam her notebook down, and she wasn't yelling at him. She seemed normal. Maybe she didn't know. _Please let it be the ladder._

The bell rung and the teacher shut the door and silently took attendance. She then begun to hand out packets to the front row, and students in the front began to pass them back, each student taking one. When Lory, the junior who sat in front of Helga blindly held out the packets for her to take, Arnold glanced up to see her hand reach out to grab them. She didn't wrench them from her, Helga simply reached up, and calmly took them in her hand, taking the last one in the stack to hand it out off to her side for Arnold to take. She didn't toss it over to him forcefully, she simply held it out, waiting for him to take it. He slipped it out of her grip, and placed it in front of him. _Maybe she doesn't know after all. As long as I can keep it that way until I can find a way to tell her myself, maybe it will be... _

"Alright, listen up." Mrs. Hood spoke up at the front of the class. "We're starting our first major assignment today. It will count towards your final grade, so pay attention. You and you're partner," _Oh god, _"will write a research report on the topic I assign you. This won't be something you can haphazardly bust out in one night, it will take you at least a few weeks, if you want a passing grade that is. It will be due right before you go on Thanksgiving break, which gives you about close to two months, which is plenty of time. You and you're partner will write a research paper on a certain animal, which I will assign you later in the class. The requirements of this assignment are outlined in the packets I have handed out to you."

Mrs. Hood began to randomly assign animals to the pairs of students, and the last pair to get assigned an animal was Helga and Arnold. "Lastly, Arnold and Helga, you two will have the Silverback Gorilla. Now, for the remainder of class," _Oh god, please no... _"Get together with your partner and discuss the assignment." _I'm so dead._

His spine tingled and shivered while anxiousness washed over him. He clutched the packet in his sweaty palms tightly and began to make it look like he was reading through it. Placing his chin in the cup of his fingers, while rubbing his fingers back and forth to make it seem convincing as he furrowed his brow. _She's going to kill me! What was I thinking! I wasn't thinking, I'm such a dipsh..._

"Alright, football head." Helga finally spoke up. At the sound of her voice, he visibly jumped, as he struggled to find his heartbeat again after it had practically leaped out of his chest. He turned his head towards her, but kept his eyes drawn to her packet, now sitting on top of her text book. "What do you know about Silverbacks?" She asked as she clicked open her purple gel pen.

"Umm" His voice was shaky, _too _shaky. He cleared his throat and looked back down at his own packet, now slick with the sweat from his palms. "I know their on the endangered species list, they are hunted in the jungles of Africa by poachers for their pelts. Not much else." He hoped to god that his voice convinced her of his calmness.

She flipped open her binder to a piece of blank paper and began to hastily write down the points he had just said. The sound of her pen running across the paper might as well have been nails on a chalkboard. He saw her bring her pen up to her face, and he followed it's tip till it reached her lips, that were stuck out in a pout as she squinted at the ceiling in deep thought. "What was the name of that chick that lived with monkeys?" She tapped the pen against her chin as she thought, he knew who she was talking about right off the bat, but he held his tongue, afraid that his mental filter would fail him the a second time that day. "Joan Goodface?" She asked, her voice going into a squeak at the end.

"Jane Goodall, and she studied with chimpanzees, Helga, not gorillas."

"I know that, _football head, _but studies have shown that chimpanzees have the same behavioral patterns as gorillas." He couldn't ignore the way she spat his nickname out at him, just like the way she had when they were kids. _Oh crap, she knows. _

"Studies? What studies?" He asked, calling her out on her bluff.

"The ones I just made up." She said as she continued to scribble in her binder. He couldn't help but crack a smile at the retort. "Besides, I've actually done a report on gorillas before."

"I remember that, back in eighth grade. You brought in pictures of your sister with one in a zoo."

"You remember that?" She asked in a small voice. Panic flooded him, how was he suppose to respond with out looking creepy?

"Well, yeah. I mean, it wasn't that long ago." He tried to point out. _Are you stupid! You can't even remember what you had for breakfast, but you can remember Helga's eighth grade report on gorillas? _

He heard her let out a loud, dramatic sigh, as she let her hand fall against the table with a loud thud. "Alright, Arnold. Spill it." _She's going to chastise me! _

He innocently looked over to her. She was leaning against her elbow, her eyes half lidded, her lips drawn back into a half pout, with one eye brow raised up. "Spill what?"

"Don't give me that! I know you know, and I also know that you know I know. So spill it!" _She DOES know! _

"If you... if you know, then why are you asking me?" He asked in a small voice that felt as if was shrinking with each syllable he uttered.

"Because I want to hear it from you first." _Before I turn you into sawdust, _he finished in his head.

He took a large breath in, and let it out in a shallow, staccato breath outward. "Alright, so I had just sat down at lunch when Sid sits down across from me and told me that he heard that I was going to ask you to homecoming and that it was a good call because you were hot, and that he was thinking of making a move, and that he thought you would be good in bed and I snapped and told him that if he said another word about you that I'd sow his mouth shut and then I stood up and ran out." He spoke fast, and by the time his ramble had ended, he was out of breath, and his muscles convulsed and flinched in preparation of her attack. He was staring down at his textbook, with the only sound in his ears being the hammering of his pulse against his ear drums. He hesitantly looked over to her. Her eyes were wide with shock and her lips were parted slightly. His own eyes grew wide at the sudden realization of what he had just said. _Now she's REALLY going to kill you. _

* * *

_He what? He what? He wants to WHAT? _Helga's thoughts screamed in her head. Her heart raced, and she was breathing a little too fast for comfort. _Did he just say what I think he said? Did he really just say that he was going to ask __**me **__to homecoming?_ As Arnold looked back at her, his head hung low in what seemed to be shame, mixed with terror, and held her gaze, she found it difficult to break the thick silence. "Umm... what?"

"What?" He asked back.

"What?" She asked again, trying to rid the squeak and nervousness out of her voice. The silence enveloped them again.

"I mean, Sid's a creep and uh... he bugs me and I just wanted him to go away and..."

"Before that..." Helga said with her voice just above a whisper.

"Oh... that, well, I know that homecomings and dressing up isn't really your thing, but I thought it would just be fun if we went as just... friends. You know, just go and have fun." His thoughts were scrambled in his and he fought to right them.

"So... you're really asking me to go to homecoming with you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Um, I guess, well, just as friends."

She squinted her eyes at him again and put her lips out in a scowl once more before she spoke again. "I'll think about it." _Are you fucking nuts? Arnold just asked you to homecoming and you have to think about it? _

Arnold nodded and sat up straight. "Alright."

"And as far as Sid goes, I appreciate the offer, but I can sow his mouth shut myself, _thank you._" Helga turned back around in her stool.

"Whatever you say, Helga."

Class had ended ten minutes later and Helga made her way to the other side of school to her next class. Why she decided to take this class was beyond her, maybe it was because she thought she had an idea of what was going on, since she picked up guitar over the summer last year. But with just a week into this class, she was as lost as ever. Phoebe said that they were going over keys today, which was not her strong suit. Hell, this whole class was the wrong size to begin with. But, luckily, it was the last class of the day, and she could hardly wait to end the day and go home, shut her bedroom door, and escape from the world.

She walked into the music room just as the bell was ringing, and Mr. Meredith was just handing out the assignment for the day. She took her usual seat off to the left side of class and took the paper the teacher had offered her. The teacher began his lecture, but Helga's thoughts, much to her dismay, kept going back to Arnold. What did she need to think about! Sure, dressing up and dolling herself up like some beauty pageant meat puppet wasn't her thing, and the fact that Arnold knew that about her flattered her, but the thought of getting a chance to be with him for one night, getting a chance to be arm in arm, a chance to dance together, how could she pass that up? _I'll find him after class and say yes. _With a goal in mind, she went back to work on the sheet the teacher had handed her at the beginning of class. When the bell rung, signifying the end of class, and of the day, she gathered up her things and made her way to her locker, chancing a glance over at Arnold's to see if he was there yet.

"I don't suppose you like skunk." A voice came from the other side of her locker door. She put her final book inside her locker for the weekend and closed it to find Ian on the other side, leaning against it, with his hands in his pockets, and a playful smirk on his face.

"Skunk?" She asked.

"The Voodoo Glow Skulls are opening up for Streetlight Manifesto at a venue not too far from here this Friday. My big brother is busy with his wife this Friday, and if there's one thing I know about shows, it's that it's never fun to go alone."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" She turned to face him.

"No, If I were to ask you out on a date, I would ask you if you knew any place to get a decent burger around here, and if you would show me where. On a date, you dress in pressed clothes, when you go to a punk rock show, you wear your favorite band T-shirt. This is far from a date." She eyed him intently, his face remaining calm before he spoke again. "Yes, I will pay to get in."

"Alright, sounds like fun. I've never been in a real pit before." She admitted, slightly embarrassed.

"Really? Never?" She shook her head. "Just remember one thing."

"What's that?"

"Wear long pants and no open toed shoes." He threw himself off of the wall of lockers before sauntering past her.

"Wait! Let me give you my number." She told him. He turned around and walked backwards before speaking up again.

"Why? It's not a date!" He turned back around and rounded the corner. She sighed and looked down at the floor. He has been here one day, and he had asked her to a show, weirder yet, she said yes! She looked up again and spotted Arnold at his locker, and he had company.

* * *

The last period of the day went by fairly fast for Arnold. She didn't say no, she said she'll think about it, that usually meant yes in girl speak, right? Class let out, and Arnold went to get some things out of his locker before heading home, and also hoping to catch Helga at her locker.

"Hey bro!" Gerald greeted, coming to a stop from running up behind him.

"Oh, hey Gerald. What's up?"

"What's this I hear about you giving Sid a tongue lashing at lunch?"

"It was nothing. Sid was talking badly about Helga, and I told him to shut up, that's it."

"Well, there are rumors going around that you stood up for Helga because you two are dating."

"What!?" Arnold yelped as he threw his hand into Gerald's arm and urged him to stop.

"Whoa, calm down, dude! They're just rumors! They'll die out soon."

"I'm not so sure." Arnold released his grip on Gerald's arm and looked down at the floor before continuing down the hall again.

"And why is that?" Gerald asked slyly.

"I asked her to homecoming."

"...and?"

"She said she'll think about it."

"Hmm, well, I'll let you know tonight."

"Let me know what?"

"Dude, these are females we are talking about. Helga will go home tonight, and get on her phone with Phoebe and talk for hours on end about this, then, Phoebe will call me, and talk to me about it for hours on end. Then, I will call you and give you the gist of it in a few seconds."

"Shouldn't we just let her tell me herself?" Gerald simply gave him a look before he spoke again.

"I'll call you later tonight, I'll see you later bro."

"Yeah, later." They did their handshake and Gerald disappeared, leaving Arnold alone at his locker. He looked up and saw Helga talking with the new guy, Ian. He opened his locker and placed a few books inside, and taking out a few others, when a sultry voice came from his side.

"Hello, Arnold." She said.

He shut his locker before speaking. "Hey Lila." He said, trying to make it obvious with his tone that the last thing he wanted to do was talk to her.

"You look ever so handsome today, Arnold." Lila said, twirling her mini skirt around, and trying to push her boobs out from her form fitting shirt.

"Thanks." He responded flatly before trying to step around her, only to have her step in front of his path. "What do you want, Lila?"

"I was just thinking how lovely it would be if you would let me be your date to homecoming. It would be ever so nice to go with the best guy in Hillwood High." Lila stepped into his personal space, but he found his back being pressed into his locker.

"That's uh.. nice of you to offer Lila, but, I already have a date."

"You do?"

"Yeah, and I'm going to be late for my shift at work, so if you could please let me by..." He felt inwardly bad for lying to Lila about being on shift at the site tonight, but it would be worth the guilt to get her out of his face.

"Okay Arnold, call me tonight!" He heard her chirp out as he quickly made his way down the hall towards Helga's locker, which he found abandoned. _Stupid Lila making me miss my chance to talk to Helga! _He slowed his pace once he was around the corner and out of Lila's view. _I guess I'll just wait for Gerald to call tonight then. _

One bus ride later, he was entering the door to the boarding house. "I'm home!" He bellowed before he set his back pack down near the door and went into the kitchen. "Mom? Dad, whoa!" He ducked immediately following his entrance into the kitchen.

"Ah, hello, kimba! The prey is close!" Gertie said, peeling the flyswatter off of the wall, and creeping around the corner.

"Your parents are at another book signin' short man. They said they'd be back around six." Grandpa said from the table.

"Another one? That's the third one this month."

When Arnold's parents, Miles and Stella, returned from their imprisonment in San Lorenzo, having been captured by a group of smugglers and held prisoner, they had returned home during the summer of Arnold's seventh year of grade school. With the jungles of central and south America being among the most dense in the world, it was nearly impossible to get out, and just as impossible to send for help. They had kept a journal of their times being in capture, and after a few nation news interviews, a publisher had approached them and asked their permission to publish it. It had become a best seller, in short time. They had just written a follow up book, and it was quickly rising in popularity.

"Things will settle down soon, short man. You hungry?"

"No thanks, grandpa. I'm alright."

He went up to his room and sat down at his desk and opened his e-mail. He had a new email about the tickets he had purchased last week, saying that the payment went through. His love for the horns and smooth rhythms of jazz music when he was younger, quickly led him to the quirky and upbeat melodies of ska music. He was surprised to see that one of his favorite bands was headlining at a place just outside of Hillwood this Friday. It was not too often that a _good _band made its way into Hillwood. He was excited, to say the least, it would be his first show. It was bad that he had to go alone. Gerald was busy with Phoebe, and he didn't want to drag his friend to a show where he wouldn't enjoy the music. So he decided to go alone. He printed out the tickets and placed them next to his computer, just before he printed out directions to the venue that the show was being held at.

"At least I have _something _to look forward to."

* * *

**A/N: Streetlight Manifesto is the best band of all time. I have seen them live, I have also seen the Voodoo Glow Skulls live, and I have been in my fair share of pits, So I'm hoping that the next chapter will be realistic. **

**If you dont know these two bands, or if you don't know what 'ska' is, LOOK IT UP! IT ROCKS! **

**anyway, I hope you like this chapter, you can tell me by leaving a _REVIEW!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

* * *

"No!"

"Oh, come on baby! It'll look so sexy!"

"I'm not letting you grow a soul patch, Gerald. And that's final."

"What about during 'no-shave November'?"

"I will not hesitate to have your face bikini waxed, Gerald." Phoebe said as she pushed the door to her bedroom open.

Gerald started rubbing the side of his face in fear as he looked away from his girlfriend. He still had to ask about growing facial hair after he tried to grow a handle bar mustache last year. He thought that a soul patch would be no big deal, but Phoebe argued that it made him look like a goat, ironic since he didn't ask about growing a goatee. He watched as she grabbed her book bag and plopped down on her bed ungracefully, and pull her shoulder length raven hair from it's pony tail. He set his own bag down next to hers and sat beside her, and slid backward til he was settled in the corner, with his legs spread out across the bed, with his left leg being used to hold up her physics book.

An hour went by in comfortable silence, with her scribbling away at her physics homework, with him silently reading up on Holdin Caulfield leaving school for the weekend. Phoebe's phone began to buzz next to her elbow and she awkwardly reached down to answer it.

"Hey Helga." She said into the receiver. She jumped up into a sitting position with a look of shock on her face. "He did? What did you say? You'd think about it? What on earth do you have to think about? Friends?" She looked over at Gerald and put the phone's receiver against her shoulder. "Gerald, your friend is a moron." Gerald simply shrugged in response. "What are you going to tell him? Lila? Gerald, what do you know about this?"

" 'bout what?" He said, not taking his attention off of the novel in front of him.

"About Lila and Arnold."

He scoffed before he continued. "Lila's been throwin' herself at him ever since junior year. He's never showed any interest in her though, he just doesn't have a set big enough to tell her to kick rocks, that's all."

"Are you sure?" She asked in an accusing tone.

"I'm sure! I know for a fact that he has no interest once so ever in little miss froo froo. She might as well be the gum he's too lazy to scrap off the bottom of his sneakers."

"I'm assuming you heard that?" Phoebe said into the phone. "Yes, yes, I know, Helga. So tell him tomorrow in first period. Of course I'll help you, Helga. Don't worry, I'll make sure he has to carry his jaw when sees you." She hung up and tossed her phone down on the bed before shaking her head. "Dansei wa sono yōna bakadesu." She muttered under her breath, rearranging herself in her original position.

Gerald let out a sultry groan. "Mmm, I love it when you diss me in Japanese." He said, leaning forward.

She rolled her eyes before looking back down at her books. "Baka..."

"Mmm, say something else..."

"_Senaka suwaru." _She pressed her hand firmly against his chest until his back was once again up against the wall. He let out a huff of frustration and picked up his book again.

* * *

_"Arnold... I..." Helga's voice, just below an audible whisper above the slow, sensual music that was playing, felt rough against her dry throat. Arnold looked down at her, sliding his thumbs back and worth against the silk material of her dress hugging her waist. His eyes shimmered with the reflective light of the mirror ball that hung in the ceiling. With that dreamy half lidded gaze, and a soft smirk playing at his lips, he gently flexed his fingers against her waist, making her own grip on his shoulders to tighten. _

_"Yes, Helga?" His voice was low and husky, with his lips being left hanging open after he was finished whispering to her. She leaned in closer, slightly pushing up on the balls of her feet. She could feel her heart beat thump through her entire body as his eyes drifted shut, and his head tilted to the side slightly. She closed her eyes, while sliding her arms up his shoulders to wrap around his neck, burying her right hand into his soft, silky hair, with her other pressing against his upper back, denying his retreat, which he didn't seem to be taking. _

_She could feel her ragged, nervous breath entwine with his slow and deep ones in the inch that separated their lips, making her nose moist. She could feel the magnetic pull of his aura drag her in millimeter by millimeter, feeling her nose slide against his, feeling him pull her lower body flush against his. She felt him part his lips wider, feeling the softness she was desperate to revile in, to experience, to capture with her own. Feeling his hands, and his slender fingers slide from her waist to the small of her back, and press her upper body gently against his chest, just before he... _

"Lory Meyers used to live up stairs! Our parents had, been friends for years!" She popped her eyes open to her phone blaring her alarm ring tone, set as an old NoFX song. She threw her arm across the bed and blindly reached for her phone on the night stand and hit the side button to shut it up. She let out a growl and threw herself up. Pushing her hair out of her face, she got up and slumped slowly down the hall to the bathroom, emerging five minutes later, still a little flustered. A dream about having Arnold kiss her was nothing new, and even having the occasional provocative dream didn't hurt either, but now, after his recent interest in taking her to homecoming had come into light, this one had been more intense. Almost as if she could remember the feel of his hands on her waist as she pushed herself against him on the dance floor of the gym in Hillwood High. She shook her head to break her thoughts as she returned to her room and went into her closet. She changed into a pair of denim jeans, cut off at the knees, and a pink tank top above a white long sleeved tee, before pulling her hair into a low pony tail, tied in with a small pink ribbon, leaving one strand of hair own to fall in front of her face.

She slipped on her converse sneakers and went down stairs to find Mariam passed out over the counter, empty bottle of vodka in one hand, the other loosely clutching the handle of the blender, as she snored, while Bob was passed out in front of the TV in his chair. She went over by Bob and turned off the TV, then went back into the kitchen and grabbed the coffee sitting in the ready coffee pot. At least they had the mind to set the alarm on it this time.

She slipped out the door, with her back pack, and her coffee mug in hand before heading to the bus stop. She sat, waiting for the bus, taking occasional sips of her black coffee, thinking over the day, along with the night before. Her conversation with Phoebe had helped. Part of her was dreading having to get all dolled up. She hadn't worn a dress since middle school, let alone a pair of heels. Then there was the part where she had to awkwardly tell Arnold that she would gladly go with him to homecoming. She didn't want him to get too excited about the whole thing, only to be disappointed with her when the night actually came and went. She was hoping that this would get them out of the 'friend zone'. Thinking back on it, maybe that's why she had said she had to think about it. He had said 'just as friends', maybe he had asked every one else, maybe he was asking Lila to homecoming when she spotted them yesterday afternoon after school, maybe she was just his last resort. Maybe he pitied her, maybe he thought that it would be an act of selflessness to show the high school bitch a good time and take her to homecoming.

These thoughts brought out her embarrassment, along with her feeling that it was always better to be alone. After all, as the old saying goes, loneliness in like an old coat, after a while, it just gets comfortable. She had been alone all her life, having to grow up on her own, mature on her own, be responsible for her own life, take care of herself since she was a little girl. She had forgotten what it was like to be taken care of, to be cared for, to be noticed, to be... loved.

She couldn't miss it, how could she? You can't miss what you've never had, right?

A loud, repetitive honk came from down the street, as a red Ford Explorer pulled up to the curb. It came to a screeching halt a few feet away from the bus stop, and its passenger side window rolled down, with her ears being assaulted with loud, hard core punk rock that she didn't recognize, the volume was turned down, and the driver took off his cop sun glasses and spoke up. "You need a ride, Helga?"

She stood up to get a better look at the source of the familiar voice. "Ian?"

Ian leaned over and pushed open the door. "Come on, hop in. You can't blare punk rock on public transportation."

She grabbed her back pack and coffee mug off of the bench and tossed them inside, then shut the door, as he quickly pulled away. Right as she buckled her seat belt, he put his sun glasses back on, and turned the music back up. She didn't recognize the band playing, but they sounded awesome. She looked in the center console at the collection of CD's that lay inside. She recognized only a few names, The Koffin Kats, No Comply, Leftover Crack, Choking Victim, Stuck Lucky, Fist Of The North Star, he even had the earliest Rancid. Before she knew it, he was skidding into an parking spot. He placed his hand gently against the visor, with a far away look in his eyes, just before sliding out with his back pack being slung around his shoulder.

"Who was that?" She asked, pointing her thumb to the car, as they walked to the front of school.

"Against All Authority."

"I thought they sounded familiar." She looked up and spotted Gerald's Honda Accord pull into a spot a few spaces ahead of them, with Gerald and Phoebe jumping out of the front, and Arnold popping his head out of the back. She heard Arnold let out a yelp of laughter.

"Why would you want to grow a soul patch, Gerald?" She heard him ask.

"Come on, bro, think about it! Howie Mandel has one!" He triumphantly defended.

"Howie Mandel is also a hard core germaphobe." He replied. Arnold looked up from the ground and his eyes fell upon her, then quickly darted over to the person walking a few feet away from her, seemingly not paying any attention, just calmly strolling down the parking lot, head held high, wearing an expressionless face. She saw Arnold's eyes quickly dart between them, back and forth. She looked down, in some what embarrassment. She looked over at Ian.

"Hey, I'll see you in homeroom, kay?"

Ian simply raised his hand behind him and gave a slight wave before continuing down the parking lot. She began walking over to Gerald's car, where the couple was beginning to walk hand in hand to the front doors, with Arnold pretending to fiddle with the straps of his back pack. _Nothing to be nervous about, Helga old girl. He asked you, remember? Usually, when some one asked you on a date, the want you to say yes, right? _She took a deep breath to try and steady herself, and walked over to him. "Hey, football head." She greeted calmly.

"Hey Helga. Why didn't you ride the bus?" If she wasn't mistaken, she felt an edge of accusation in his voice.

"Ian just pulled up at the bus stop and offered me a ride to school. It was between riding with a bunch of freaks on the bus, having to listen to idiots talk, or listening to music with one person who doesn't talk at all. Why didn't _you _ride the bus, football head?" She asked crossing her arms.

His eyes went slightly wide before he answered. "Um... I carpool with Gerald."

She started down the parking lot, leaving him to follow next to her. "I thought you had a car."

"Not yet, just a few more months."

"So, you're still working construction?"

"Demolition, actually. And yeah, Mr. Potts got me into it over the summer. My dad thought it would be good for me to learn the 'value of hard labor'." He said using air quotes. "It's better then working at Slausen's and making minimum wage. And I do enjoy the work."

"I'm sorry, Arnoldo, I just can't picture you swinging a sledge hammer. You're too... meek."

"What's that suppose to mean?" He asked, but with the tone of his voice, she knew he was kidding.

"Come off it, football head. You're too nice to smash anything."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you just payed me a compliment." She slightly stiffened at his accusation.

She let out a scoff. "Guess it's a good thing you know better, _football head." _

"What ever you say, Helga." He said, just before he pulled open the door for her and let her continue inside. _Just tell him! It's not he asked you to marry him or anything, it's just homecoming! _They rounded the corner to the hall where their lockers where and she felt her voice begin to scratch and claw at the back of her throat.

"Hey Arnold." She called out, just before he turned away to go to his locker. He looked back at her with that dreamy, soft smirk of his before he asked.

"Yes, Helga?" His tone sent her dream from the night before slamming back into her memory. All the sudden, she could remember his hands on her, his nose sliding up against hers, his breath entwining itself with her own, and the hard thunderous thump of her heart beat pounding its way through her body.

"Umm... uh... do... do you have last night's biology home work?" She stuttered.

He squinted his eyes at her before giving her a confused look. "We didn't have biology homework last night, Helga."

She shook her head to try and rid her brain of the dream. "Right, sorry. See you in class." She quickly turned away made her way to her locker, feeling his eyes on her back. She took a few shaky breaths as she spun her combination. _You blubbering idiot! _She grabbed her notebook, clammed her locker shut and walked into class. She stopped in the door way where she found Rhonda sitting in her seat next to Ian.

"So, you're just going to be an ass hole all the time?" She heard Rhonda ask.

"Only when you're around, Barbie Doll."

"Get outta my seat, princess!" Helga spat as she came to a stop next to her desk.

"Calm down, Pataki, I was just leaving." She said in response as she stood up.

"Thank god." Ian muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Rhonda to hear. She sent a glare his way before moving to her own desk, sitting down and crossing her arms, glaring out the window. Helga sat down in her recently vacated seat and set her notebook down. She looked over to Ian, who was holding a crumpled up picture, with the same far away look in his eyes as he had just before he left his car.

"What's that?" Helga asked out of curiosity. Ian quickly folded the picture back up and stuffed it into his back pocket.

"It's nothing." He mumbled. She was about to challenge him when the bell rang and class began.

By the time second period came around, she was walking to her next class, while Ian made his way ahead of her. She walked into Economics to find Ian sitting in his desk across the class room slumped over, pinching the bridge of his nose. She sat down in her own desk, sitting in silence as the rest of the students shuffled in and class began. When they were dismissed as hour later, he quickly got up, and started making his to the door, but Helga caught him just before he rounded the corner into the hall. "Hey, we still on for Friday?"

"Oh, yeah. You want to just meet there?"

"You are not making me take the bus, bucko!" She said, shoving her finger at him.

"Alright then, I'll pick you up at six. Doors open at six forty-five." He said just before he made his way down the hall.

Helga's next two classes went by very uneventful, until lunch came around. She sat down at her usual table, in her usual spot. Phoebe came in a few minutes after Helga, looking a little forlorn. "What's up, Pheebs?" Helga asked in a concerned voice.

"Pop quiz in music theory." She muttered while she pulled out one of her text books and tossed it angrily on the table.

"A quiz? What's on it?"

"Keys and intervals."

"How'd it go?"

"It's timed."

"What!"

"15 minutes for all 20 questions. I only finished 18."

"I'm so screwed..." She entwined her fingers behind her head and pushed her head against the table.

"Hey baby." Gerald said before placing a kiss to Phoebe's head. He then sat down and noticed her expression. "What is it?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, Gerald." He simply nodded and began eating. Lunch went by in silence, until the bell rang and students began stampeding toward the doors. Helga made her way to Biology, thinking how badly she was going to bomb the quiz in music theory.

"Hey Helga!" She looked up to find Arnold dodging his way around people and waving at her.

"Crimeny, football head, where's the fire?" She asked as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Class is in the library today. We're looking up material for our projects."

"Oh, okay." Helga quickly turned around and made her way down the hall toward the library, with Arnold walking next to her. _Oh great, an awkward silence, and there's going to be an hour of it. _They got to the library and Arnold opened the door for her and ushered her in, finding a small table off to one side for them to sit at. The bell rang and Mrs Hood instructed them to find at least two books pertaining to their animal. After finding their books, they returned to their seats and began to work. They sat in their awkward silence for twenty minutes, and it was beginning to wear Helga down. _He asked you, you have to respond! No use waiting forever! Get the lead out! _She cleared her throat load enough to get his attention. She saw him look at her out of the corner of her eye and straighten up from his slouched position. "So... um..."

"What is it, Helga?"

"I've been thinking..." She paused, hoping for something to happen to get her out of this awkward situation.

"...about?"

She took one last breath before steeling herself. "Yes."

He shook his head in surprise. "What?"

"Yes, I'll go."

She watched him out of her peripheral vision as he fought for his face not to light up. He let out a small chuckle before speaking again. "Really? You'll go?"

"Yes, I'll go to home coming with you."

"Wow, that's... that's great." She wasn't expecting him to be so excited about it. He just wanted to go as friends. "You want to um... meet up, after school? Work out the details?"

"Homecoming isn't for another few weeks, football head. We have plenty of time." He nodded, some what sadly if she wasn't mistaken. "How bout I call you tonight?"

His gaze snapped back up to hers before turning into a slight smile. "That sounds great."

* * *

**A/N: I know, I know, I said that the concert would be in this chapter, but it's not, deal with it! and I know it's not the greatest ending in the world, but I felt that it was a good place to end it. You can try and infer as to what Ian was looking at, I would love to hear your ideas, I have something in my mind for his back story, but I am always open to suggestions! **

**~Major :) **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So, this chapter is the concert, and I will reveal Ian's back story in this chapter also. I really REALLY appreciate all of your suggestions and ideas from the last chapter, and I have also taken them into consideration. And if things play out the way I want to, Rhonda and Ian will become closer, but since I already have the back story written, it may not be the way you think. **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

* * *

"It's just a concert Phoebe, it's not a date." Helga said into her phone, still rifling through her closet for the shirt she was looking for. It was Friday afternoon, school had let out two hours ago, and as agreed, Ian would be here in three hours time. Needless to say, Helga was excited. She had been listening to the headline band the whole week, and they were quickly getting up there in her list of favorite bands, she even added a line from a song on the edge of her sneakers, saying "You say you've got the cure, but I don't have a disease." Some people were skeptical about it, mainly Phoebe. When Helga had told her that she had plans tonight, after being asked to hang out, Phoebe began to interrogate her about Helga going to a concert with a guy, who seemed to be interested in her.

True, Ian was good looking, witty, smart, he could make her laugh, and he had an edge of mystery to him that she found interesting. But he had said himself when he first asked her, this wasn't a date. But maybe he just said that to get her to go.

"Helga, you are going to a concert with him, just to two of you, that sounds like a date to me." Phoebe challenged.

"Just the two of us? Pheebs, there are going to be tons of people, most likely, when the actual show starts, we will hardly see each other. We are going as friends."

"Just like you and Arnold and the homecoming?"

"That's different!" Helga defended. It was different. Ian didn't like dances, she asked him. To quote, "I don't like to go to the gym after hours, and have to stand around in a monkey suit, having to listening to that pop, hip- hop, country, rap, techno, fusion bull-shit they call music nowadays, you know, Taylor Swift". She understood, She wasn't going for homecoming, she was going for Arnold. She was going because Arnold wanted to go, with her. Arnold knew her well enough to know that Helga didn't like having to dress up. But she would do it for him.

"Phoebe, I know what you're thinking." She continued. "I don't have feelings for him."

"How do you know he doesn't have feelings for you?"

"I... well... because."

"Because why?"

"Just because, okay?! He's just... interesting, that's all." Ian was interesting. He was always talking about his big brother, he was always bragging about him. The way he talked about him, they seemed very close, and she couldn't help but be envious. Why couldn't she have a _real _older sibling.

"What about Arnold?"

"What about him?"

"Helga... you have been waiting for a chance to be with him for as long as I can remember, and now, when you finally have one, you are going to throw it away just because some new guy shows up?"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold it, Phoebe! I'm not throwing it away! For the last time, Ian and I are just friends." Helga was becoming irritated by Phoebe's nagging.

"Okay, Helga. I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all." Phoebe's voice had become softer, and more concerned.

"I won't, Pheebs." She replied softly. "Now, I have to go, I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, Helga, have fun tonight."

"Count on it!" She shut her phone and tossed it against her bed and went back into her closet to find her shirt. After a few shirts being tossed onto the floor outside of her closet, she found it, her black Bad Religion 'Suffer' T-shirt. She slipped it on and put her hair back into a pony tail with a black hair tie. She looked down at herself. 'Wear long pants and no open toed shoes' he said when he asked her. She was wearing her black cargo pants, and her converse sneakers. She still had two and a half hours to kill till Ian showed up to pick her up. She plugged her MP3 player into her stereo and hit shuffle, the song "Human Pinata" by the Voodoo Glow Skulls coming on. She smiled at the coincidence. _Tonight is going to be awesome! _

Two and a half hours later, after finishing up her homework to have her weekend free, it was now 5:45. She picked up her phone and slipped it into her pocket and went to her window, bouncing in anticipation, she wanted to catch him at the door before he knocked, so she didn't have to go through having to introduce him to her careless parents. Five minutes later, she heard loud music a block away, and judging from the fast bass, it wasn't rap, it was punk rock. After she his Explorer pull up, she darted down stairs, past Bob staring away into the TV, and Mariam wobbling her way back into the kitchen. She flung the door open just as he was making his way up her stoop. "Let's go!" She yelled as she jumped down to the street.

"Um, okay." He turned back around and she took in his appearance. He was wearing his usual black ascot cap, blue jeans rolled up to his ankles, to show off his polished leather combat boots, and a leather jacket that she had never seen before. With the back being decorated with a what looked like paint marker, the words 'With a golden heart, comes a rebel fist' surrounding an illustration of a fist clenching a yellow heart, and anarchy symbols being used as A's.

"Nice jacket." She commented as she opened her door, and he got in the other side.

"Thanks. My step sister helped me out with it." He started the car and turned the music down to a reasonable volume. They started down the street, when he spoke up after a few blocks. "Have you eaten yet?"

"I'm not that hungry." She answered.

"I think there's a place just up ahead." He said, looking further up the street.

"I said I'm not hungry!"

"You will be. It's better you eat now anyway. The best pits are always during the head liners, and you need energy, trust me."

He pulled into a recently opened restaurant that she hasn't been to yet, and went inside, siding down in a small booth off to the left. A waitress came up and took their drink orders, leaving them alone. "I thought that this wasn't a date." Helga said, leaning back in the seat.

"It isn't. If this was a date, I would have brought you flowers, but that would have been very stupid of me."

"Why?"

"What the hell are you suppose to do with a bouquet of flowers at a punk rock show?" Helga laughed and the waitress came by again and set their drinks down, and they each ordered a regular cheese burger.

"So, there's something I've been meaning to ask you." Helga said after taking a long sip of her soda.

"Okay..." Ian said awkwardly.

"That picture you're always looking at..." She saw his eyes harden a bit. "What is it?"

He let out a long sigh, before digging in his back pocket to reveal the small, folded picture. He held it in his hands a bit, his eyes now holding that far away look that they would get when ever he gazed at what ever image the picture displayed. He unfolded it and slid it across to her. She reached up and picked it up and held it in her view. It was of him holding a girl in his arms. She was cradled in his arms, one leg out in the air, the other bent downward, one arm around his neck, the other being held out to the camera with a middle finger pointed at it. Her face expressed that of a person yelling in excitement. She had short, black hair, pulled into a small pony tail at the base of her head, with a pair of bangs framing her face. She had on a short plaid skirt, fish nets, and combat boots, with a red shirt with a huge black anarchy symbol in the middle. He had a bright smile on his face as his bright blue eyes gazed up at her. "Her name is Kelly."

She looked up at him, and he was looking down at his glass. "Who is she?"

"She's my girlfriend. We've been dating for about three years now." Helga was taken back by his use of present tense.

"You're still dating? Even after you moved?"

"Yeah, I promised her that I'd come back when I'm done here. She wanted to come with me, but... she had parents, friends..."

"What's she like?" Helga asked, sliding the photo back over to him.

He let out a small chuckle before picking up the picture again. "She's strong, she's never afraid to stand up for herself, but she still lets me tell guys off who try to hit on her. She's not afraid of anybody, she never cares what people think about her." He lifted his left shirt sleeve and displayed his left arm. The words 'I'm in love with Oi Oi Oi!' tattooed on his upper arm. "I got this after a show one night."

"Haven't you ever heard of the tattoo curse?" She asked jokingly.

"She doesn't know it's for her. We would be walking down the street downtown, and out of nowhere, she'd yell 'Oi Oi Oi' really loudly. I never told her what this tattoo meant."

"She seems pretty cool."

"Yeah, she is."

"So, why'd you leave?" She asked. His eyes snapped up to her's, and they were wide with shock. "Too personal?"

He paused. "No. I guess it'll be good to tell someone other than my brother. My brother, his wife, and I moved up here after our Dad died. He died in a car accident. My mom died of cancer about three years ago, but after my dad died, we all decided that we needed to leave. There were just... too many memories. We sold the house, packed up, and moved. Kelly wanted to come with us, but I love her too much to uproot her life like I did mine. She understood, but she didn't want to break up just because I was moving. We decided to try long distance, and we agreed that I would fly back during breaks."

Helga stayed silent. His story seemed like a tragic one. She now understood why he held that photo so close to him. Although, she couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed at the fact that he was taken, what seemed like for good. "There's something I wanted to ask you too." Ian said after a minute.

"Why do I have the feeling that I'm not going to like this?" Helga asked.

Ian simply held up his hand to halt her and lowered it after a moment of pause. "I've been... observing, some what closely. Watching something go on that I feel compelled to get involved in. I know that this sounds creepy, but I can't help my sense of keen observation. I wasn't sure, at first, I mean, I had an idea, but with the things I've seen this past week, I'm pretty sure I'm right on this one." Helga looked at him with utter confusion. "You like Arnold, don't you?"

She froze. This guy had been here for a week, and he knew? She had hid this from everyone else in Hillwood for 14 years, and he figures it out after just a week? A cold sweat rushed over her, and she barely registered the waitress set down their orders in front of them. She felt it hard to breath over her hammering heart. She shook her head to try and snap herself out of the shock. "Uh... what?"

"It's pretty simple. My first clue was on my first day. I could tell that you were the kind of person that doesn't like to give anyone a compliment, you are the type of person to tell someone their flaws, not their strengths. Then there was the look you had on your face just before I asked you to the show tonight, when that preppy girl was twirling herself in front of him, like you wanted her head to explode. Then there was the whole thing with him yelling at a kid for talking about you, if it was anyone else, they would have limped home for weeks. And judging by the way your hand is shaking, and that I can see my reflection coming off of the sweat on your forehead, your pupils are dilating so much it looks like you're in an earthquake, I can see your pulse point acting like you've just been shot, and if that's not enough, there is the fact that... you haven't corrected me yet." He finished and popped a few fries into his mouth.

"Uh..." It was all she could manage. What was this guy? _Calm down, Helga, old girl. You've been in this situation before, just play it off like they are crazy. _"You... you're crazy. I don't like Arnold, we're just friends." She weakly defended, while taking her burger apart to take the tomato off.

"Really? Then answer me this. Why is a girl like you, a girl who I've never seen wear so much as a skirt, or any type of make up, going to homecoming with him? I don't think you would be going if say... Harold, Stinky, Sid, or even if I asked you. Yet you agreed to put on a dress, get you're hair done, put on make up, and take his arm to homecoming." He paused for a minute to let his words sink in. She knew he was right, but... she had her pride to think about. "As much as you won't believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I know what it looks like when some one has feelings for someone else."

"Yeah? And how's that?"

"You think it was easy for Kelly and I? We met when she was breaking into my parents car, she was twelve. Oddly enough, we became friends after that. There were certain moments, when our eyes would meet, they would have a certain... something. I'm not going to describe it, because you can't. But when it's there, you don't always know. You just have to know what it looks like."

She slumped back in her seat, defeated. He knew. He knew that she had feelings for Arnold. What he had no idea was how deep they were. "Alright, let's just say, hypothetically, that what you were saying were true, why would I tell you?"

"Because I can help." She lunged forward in her seat, grabbed his shirt in her fist and ripped him forward.

"Listen, bucko! If you say one word of this to Arnold, I'll rip your brains out through your nose!" She spat.

"You know, the Egyptians used to do that in the mummification process." He said slyly. She huffed and thrust him back in his seat and sat back down in her own.

"So, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it's true." _No use hiding it now. _

"Yes, fine, it's true, I have feelings for Arnold, okay?" He remained quite with a smirk on his face. "Wipe that smirk off your face before I do it for you!"

"Man, you must really like him if you're being this defensive about it."_ You have no idea.  
_

She sighed, and ran a hand through her pony tail. "Alright, you said you can help."

"You really want my help?"

"What have I got to lose besides my pride?"

He nodded and stood up before tossing a ten on the table. "Come on, doors open soon." He grabbed his jacket and threw it on and went for the door, leaving her to catch up just as it was closing.

"That's it?" She asked in confusion as he rounded his car to get in the driver seat.

"For now, you have to let things play out. Now hurry up and get in, I don't want to get stuck in the back of the line." She slid into the passenger seat and he started the car, quickly switching CD's to a band he told her about called The Koffin Kats. He left it at a reasonable volume, but after a few blocks of silence, she cranked it up to full volume. Twenty minutes later, he parked in a lot, and informed her that the venue was just a block away and they would walk from here. They started walking, and they spotted a line of people lining up along the side of a place called the El Ray. They stood at the back of the line, and Helga was becoming nervous as she looked upon the people in line. Some of them were decked out in spikes and studs and tight pants being held together with dental floss, while others were wearing cheap fedora's, and checkered shorts. "Don't worry," Ian spoke up next to her, leaning against the wall. "these are my people. Most of them are cool. But there is a certain type of person you want to avoid."

"And that would be?" She asked, looking nervously around her.

"The guys with long, greasy hair, drain pipe pants, skate shoes, wearing either a Ramones, Guns and Roses, or Iron Maiden T shirt. Those are the guys you want to avoid... _fucking Hot Topic zombies._" He muttered under his breath. Helga began looking around for an example of this, and sure enough, a few guys were standing around just a few yards in front of them, she chuckled at their appearance. Soon, the line began to move, and they were soon at the front, Ian slapped a twenty on the counter of the bouncer at the front, ushering people in, and he stamped their hands, waving them into the floor.

After passing through the small lobby, they entered the stage room. The stage was small, but the room was big, with tables set off to each side, the whole place had the feeling of an old theater from the 30's, and Helga was amazed that she had never been here before. There was a large group of people huddled around the front of the stage, waiting for the show to start. "There are some things I have to warn you about before the show starts."

Helga turned around to him as he was walking toward one of the barricades separating the tables from the floor. "What's that?" She asked crossing her arms.

"The real pits don't start until usually the third band in. The ones before that are usually just the over excited people. They usually end up embarrassing themselves. When the Voodoo Glow Skulls come on, their pits will be big, and fast. If you are one of the douche bags standing on the sides and pushing people, I will push you in myself. Now, since this is your first time, I will go with you the first time, but the second time, you're on your own. This isn't like pits at metal shows, if you've ever been to one. If you fall, don't worry, they will pick you back up, just be ready to get pushed right back in. Other than that, it's just about having fun."

The venue was flooded with people as the floor went dark and the first band came up. They started playing, and they weren't very good. After they were done, they announced the next band, and the next band came up on stage, and began playing. They were a little bit better, a bit eccentric, they came out in space suits, and had people throwing tin foil on stage. Helga managed to hit the bass guitar during a song break. Ian hi-fived her. When they went off stage, the next band began to set up. The floor went completely dark as the spot lights danced in front of the drum set and vacant mic stands. Soon, dark figures began to move through the light and slip on their guitars, carrying their horns, and take their place in front of the stands. Ian laid a hand on Helga's shoulder and led her back from where they stood in the middle of the floor. "What's the big idea?!" She asked loudly over the people screaming at the band that had yet to begin playing.

"The first song is always shoot the moon, and unless you want to get caught in the middle of a very fast circle pit, I suggest you stand here." He said into her ear, making sure she heard him. She nodded as the hi hat tapped off. A few taps later, the room erupted in loud music, blaring horns, and the stage lit up, revealing the lead singer, wearing his trade mark wrestling mask. Once the song picked up a fast tempo, Helga felt people begin to shove each other next to her, and before she realized what was happening, there was a large pit forming just a few feet away from her. She felt a hand on her shoulder again. "You want to go in?" Ian asked her, yelling into her ear over the music. She watched as people spun around in a large circle, running around at the tempo of the music, shoving each other. Before he had the chance to ask again, she jumped in and began skip stepping around in the circle, swinging her arms to the music, and it only became more violent when the music picked up in pace again.

She could feel people shove against her, and shove off of her. _This is so awesome! _She thought to herself before she felt an arm wrap around her neck and skip step in sync next to her, she looked over for a second, to find Ian pumping his fist in the air, and running along side with her. She smiled and yelled out above the music, and wrapped her arm around him in a some what brotherly manner. When the song ended, and the pit stopped, they were both exhausted, panting, and out of breath.

"That was awesome!" Helga yelled.

"Yeah! You can mosh pit almost as good as Kelly!" He said, taking his ascot cap off and running his hand through his wavy brunette hair.

The next song started up, and she recognized it as Human Pinata. She yelled as the song began and pushed her fist in the air. The circle pit began up again next to her, and she decided to stay out this time, instead deciding to scream the lyrics at the top of her lungs, even though she was drown out by everything else. After a few more songs, Helga had made her way to the front, where the people who were just standing their, banging their heads to the music were. Ian called it the 'Dead man zone', because no one ever did anything up there. During a song break, she looked around and found Ian just coming out of the pit, Hi-fiving a guy with orange chaos spikes in his hair. A half an hour later the band announced that they were done, and that Streetlight Manifesto would be coming on in a half an hour. Helga went over to find Ian talking to a guy wearing an Aquabats cadet T-shirt, and Dickes shorts. Ian slapped him on the shoulder and walked over to her after spotting her. "Why aren't you this sociable at school?" Helga asked as he came up to her.

"Like I said before, these are my people." He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes. "You know where I can get something to drink around here?"

"Yeah, I think I saw a bar in the lobby. I'm going to use the bathroom before Streetlight comes on." He walked past her and off to the side where people were beginning to line up at the merch window. She made her way into the very crowded lobby and made her way up to the bar and told one person behind it for a Yahoo. She zoned out as she waited for the bartender to return with her soda. A few minutes later, she returned with a glass and set it on the counter, while Helga slapped a five back down. She began making her way back to the floor to find Ian, and started drinking her soda. She chugged it when she saw the banner in the back change to a lamp post. She ignored the slight burning feeling in the back of her throat and tossed the red plastic cup in the trash can next to her. Before she could think about it, Ian was back at her side, and the stage was darkening again. She shook her head to try and rid herself of the dizziness, but it only got worse. The stage darkened even more as the band members began to filter on stage. Soon, the lead singer, Tomas Kalnoky was doing his opening. Ian had told her it's an old Russian dance. And then it went into a song she recognized as Everything Went Numb. She jumped into the pit that had formed in front of her and began pumping her fist in the air, shouting the lyrics, and shoving people as she ran around in a circle.

A half an hour later, the band was taking a ten minute break, and Helga made her way back to the bar to get another soda, to try and rid herself of her dry mouth, the bartender nodded and handed her a cup. She went back on the floor where the also sax player was making a bad joke with the lead singer. She chugged her soda again, and tossed the empty cup in the trash can. She went up to find Ian talking to some one. He was quite the social butterfly when you put him in the right situation. She walked a little closer and froze.

* * *

Arnold was having the time of his life. The second band that had played, a band called Supernova, put on a fun show. Some one even managed to hit the bass guitar string during a break. He went through the pit a few times during the Voodoo Glow Skulls but stayed mainly at the front during most of it. Now, he was waiting anxiously for Streetlight Manifesto to come on. He was practically bouncing in place. When the stage darkened and the band began to come on stage, one at a time, he yelled as they picked up their instruments. When they started playing, he sang along, as loud as he could. He knew every song word for word after all. It only seemed like a few songs before they announced that they were taking ten. Arnold decided to take this time to use the bathroom. Upon coming out, he recognized someone, he walked up to take a closer look and sure enough, it was Ian. He was standing with his hands in his pockets, a content smile on his face, and he leaned against the barricade off to the side. "Ian?" He called out as he made his way further over to him.

"Oh, hey Arnold!" He said enthusiastically, raising his hand up in the air for a hi-five. Arnold laughed and returned the gesture. "What are you doing here, man?"

"Streetlight Manifesto is one of my favorite bands."

"Yeah, they are awesome! You having a good time so far?"

"Oh yeah! This is the first show I've been too."

"You couldn't have picked a better one, man. You bring anyone with you?"

"Oh no, none of my friends like this kind of music."

"Really? What about..." Ian looked past Arnold, over his shoulder. "Helga?" Arnold's nerve went into overdrive. He spun around, and there, standing just a few feet away from him, was Helga G. Pataki. She was frozen in place, and she looked... odd.

"Helga? What are you doing here?" He asked.

She took a step forward, but she swayed off to the side slightly. " 'm... having fun, football head!" She came to a sloppy stop in front of the two boys.

"Uh oh." Ian muttered. "Helga, you're not drunk, are you?" Arnold snapped his head over to Ian in shock, Helga... drunk? She was only seventeen, she couldn't even buy alcohol. And judging by the way Ian had just asked her, it wasn't him who got her drunk.

"What?!" Arnold yelped.

"Dats crazy! um not drunk!" She placed a hand on Arnold's shoulder as she put her full weight on him. She placed a hand against her forehead and slumped her head back down toward the ground. He watched as Ian spun around, dug around in his pocket for a pen, and pull a napkin off of the table in front of him and begin to write on it.

"She must have ordered a soda and the bartender got mixed up and put something in it, and Helga has obviously had more than one. Hey Arnold, do you think that you can take her home for me? I would do it but, I have to have my car back before midnight, or my brother will have my head on a spike."

"Umm," Helga was now leaning fully on him, her face quickly going pale. "Yeah, sure, I can do it." Arnold placed a gentle hand on Helga's shoulder to give her something to steady her more.

"Thanks man. When you do get her home, just follow these instructions and she'll wake up feeling fine." Ian held out the napkin to him, and Arnold quickly read over it.

_1) Have her drink at least two glasses of milk or water. _

_2) Place a small trash can or plastic bag next to a bed or couch. _

_3) Make sure she falls asleep either facing off to her side or facing down. _

"Can you do that?" Ian asked.

Arnold looked up at him, just as he heard the band announce that they were back. "Yeah, I can."

* * *

**A/N: For those of you wondering, the story about the tattoo is NOT made up. The rest of it is however. The one part I am not making up is the relationship between Ians big brother and mine. I'm going off of my own relationship with my big brother, me and him are very close.  
**

**And yes, I have been in pits, many of them, and yes, the El Ray is an actual venue. Its in LA. I saw the aquabats with streetlight manifesto there. It was awesome! **

**I also know that this is a weird place to end this, but I felt that it was a bit unnecessary to carry on, when I could just have Helga wake up the next chapter, and have Arnold tell her what had happened. Please let me know what you think about this chapter. This was kind of a pivitol chapter, kind of. Sort of, not really. But a lot was revealed in this chapter that Im still skeptical about. So let me know by _REVIEWING! _**

**_~Major :)_**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Super sorry for the super long delay, I have no real excuses besides an impending move to another state, trying to find a new job down there, living arrangements so on and so on. Again, super sorry for the long delay :( **

**hope you guys can some how forgive me! Ill start with this chapter! **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine :(**

* * *

Feeling her voice scratch like sand paper against her throat as she awoke, was enough to have what was a slight groan, erupt into a full roar as the sharp pain in her throat only got worse the more she felt her vocal chords vibrate from it.

She was awake, but her eyes refused to open for a moment of halfheartedly trying to open them. With her right cheek being buried into her pillow, she could feel the slight crust of dried drool on it, and as she shifted her head slightly, she found a residual dampness to the spot just below where her mouth had been. Upon sudden realization, she grimaced and her brow scrunched together in disgust.

"Eeewwwwww!" She called out into the room, having her voice echo rather loudly. Her room never had an echo before, and come to think of it, her pillow used to be a lot plushier, and her down comforter used to have a heck of a lot more feathers than it did now, it felt sort of like an afghan now. _Wait a minute... _

She shot her eyes open upon a delayed realization that she had just awoken in someone elses' bed. She sprang up into a seated position, which made her head swim after a second or two. Placing her balance back on one arm behind her, and the other to cradle her forehead, she sat completely still for a long moment to get her equilibrium back. Once her brain found its place back in the center of her skull, she reopened her fuzzy eyes to survey her surroundings.

She was in what looked like a twin sized bed, with a green afghan covering her bottom half. The wall was decorated with faded floral wall paper, with more than a few water stains covering the corners. The closet in the far right corner of the room she was in was slightly ajar, but with the little light that was going into it, she could still see that it was empty. There was a window in the center of the wall she had her back to. There was a closed door in the far right corner of the wall she was facing, with a small table off to the side.

The room was vacant. And with as many horror movies she has invested time into watching over the years, she knew one thing... _I'm so dead. _

She looked to her right, to the bedside table, where an analog clock sat, along with a clear glass of water full to the brim. It was only when she spotted the water, that she realized how dry and itchy her throat and mouth were. She quickly grabbed the glass and took a long swing, downing half the glass in one go. She set the glass back down on the table and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Upon returning the glass to the table, she noticed her phone sitting next to the clock, and picked it up. It was 8:34 Am. And looking back at the analog clock, it has obviously not been wound in a few years. She noticed a small plastic trashcan sitting on the floor, next to the table, with an empty grocery bag open inside. She leaned back to try and collect her thoughts.

That's when the memories from last night came flooding back to her mind. First going from Ian picking her up, to arriving at the show, to her first mosh pit. She quickly filtered through each one until she reached her last vivid memory. Seeing Ian talking to someone during a break in the show. She just couldn't remember who.

There was a creak coming from the other side of the wall where the door was, and it continued down the hall until the sound dissipated. Getting her nerves back was not going to be an easy task at this rate. She throw the blanket back and slowly swung her legs off of the bed, careful not to make any noise. The whole serial killer holding her till he cuts off her face to make a mask scenario was still fresh in her mind. There was another sound of someone coming down the hall, but at a much slower pace.

_"Check the clock when I got home and realized I wasn't home. Sat where I was by the window and I'm wonderin' where did you go." _The voice sang. The voice sang in sort of a muttered tone, as if he was singing to himself. Her pulse slowed upon hearing the voice, it was soft, soothing, sort of angelic, and oddly familiar. She had heard some one singing that tune once before, in the library at school. When she told him to stop, he started to hum the melody, simply to annoy her. Her eyes widened in the realization.

"Arnold?" She asked the empty room. When the creaking on the other side of the wall came to a sudden stop, a sudden wave of shock came over her. The theory that she was at Arnold's house hadn't even crossed her mind. She didn't even remember seeing Arnold at all last night, could she? When a sudden, but soft knock came from the other side of the door, her nerves went into over drive.

"Helga? Are you awake?" The voice asked.

"Uhmm," She started, just above an audible whisper. How should she handle this? What if it wasn't Arnold after all? "Who wants to know?" She asked loud enough for her voice to penetrate through the wood of the door.

That's when the door handle slowly started to turn and the doors hinges began to squeak as it slowly opened, but stopped after a few inches. "It's me, Arnold. Are you... uhm... decent?" He asked rather nervously.

She looked down at herself, and she was still in her black Bad Religion T-shirt, and her black cargo pants, but her shoes were missing. "I'm dressed if that's what you mean."

"Oh," He opened the door fully and leaned against the door jam with one leg casually tossed across the other. "I didn't know if you..." He waved his fingers in an odd pattern in front of her, probably trying to say 'got undressed' in his own from of sign language.

"If I look the same way I feel then I probably look like death." She ran a hand roughly through her hair, and turned her gaze upon her wrinkled jeans.

"No, you look great." He said with no more than a beat in between. If her nerves weren't already on overdrive, they were now. A wave of goose bumps erupted over her skin as she nervously looked up to him. "I... I mean, uhm..." He nervously began to run the back of his neck. "I... are... how are you feeling?"

Deciding to ignore is awkward chance of subject, she continued. "I little light headed." When her stomach let out a loud grumble, she looked down at herself and poked herself in the abdomen. "And apparently hungry." She heard him let out a small chuckle from where he stood across the room. "So, I take it I'm not in my own room." She looked back over at him.

"No, after we got off the bus last night, you practically begged me not to take you home. Wait, don't you remember this?"

"Last thing I remember is walking out after getting something to drink and I found Ian talking to someone." She looked over at Arnold again and he gave a slight knowing smile. "That was you?"

"Yeah, I found him half way through Streetlight's set last night at the show and he told me you were with him, that's when he told me you were drunk. He wrote down some instructions and told me to make sure I got you home safely."

Her eyes grew wide as her conversation at the diner last night shot into her memory.

_"Alright, you said you can help." _

_"For now, you have to just let things play out." _

_This was a setup? _Anger washed over any other emotion she had in her system as her hands scrunched together in the bed sheet. "Something wrong, Helga?"

"Huh? Oh, it's... nothing. So, how exactly did I end up here?"

"Well, after Ian told me to get you home, you and I hoped a bus back to town. But when we got off I told you which direction I thought your house was, and you flipped. You said that you'd kill me if I took you back there. And in your state, I didn't want to chance it that you were bluffing. So I took you back to my place, and followed the instructions Ian gave me, then I showed you to an empty room we had."

"What instructions?" She was still a little confused, to say the least.

"Oh," He dug in his pocket for a minute. "These." He slowly crossed over to her and handed her a small crumpled up napkin.

_1) Have her drink at least two glasses of milk or water. _

_2) Place a small trash can or plastic bag next to a bed or couch. _

_3) Make sure she falls asleep either facing off to her side or facing down. _

"You mentions something about being hungry?" Arnold said as she handed him back the napkin.

"I guess, why?"

"Come on, I'll make you something." He said as he turned around and started to stroll out of the room.

"You don't have to do that, football head." She felt she had intruded on him enough.

"It's alright, I haven't eaten yet either." He said, casting a glance behind him before he rounded the corner out into the hall way.

"Really, I'm fine!" She called as he disappeared down the hall.

He poked his head back in the door way. "Are you coming or not?" He didn't wait for her to answer. She didn't want to disappoint him. After all, Arnold Shortman was offering to make her breakfast! Could she really say no to that? She quickly stood up and made her way out into the hall to find him. She quickly ran out into the hall in search of him, and she looked up and down the hall, but didn't spot him.

"Hungry after all?" She whipped around at the sound of his voice. He was leaning against the wall right next to the door which she had just bolted out of, having his hands in the pockets of his blue flannel pajama pants.

"Don't push it, Arnold-o! Hey, where's the bathroom?" Helga asked.

"Take two steps forwards, and you're there. If you hit a wall, you've gone too far." He said with a smirk, and pushed himself off the wall and continued down the hall, and down the stairs at the end. She watched him hop his way gleefully down the steps and waited till he was out of sight to swoon.

* * *

As Arnold walked down stairs and started for the kitchen, he spotted his parents at the table, his mother in her robe sipping coffee and reading a book, while his father had the morning paper open in front of him, and had just put it down. It wasn't until he heard the rough wrestling of his dad's newspaper that he looked over and saw the harsh look his father was sending him. "Morning, dad." He said with a smile, hoping that he just read a bad comic strip or something.

Miles got up from his seat after folding up the paper, and walked across the kitchen to stand in front of his son a few feet away, and crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow toward him. "Well?"

Arnold simply flashed what he thought was an innocent smile. "Well what, Dad?" Miles simply cocked his head off a little more and waited his son out. Arnold deflated and nodded off to the side and started walking out of the kitchen and into the living room, and waited for his father to join him on the against the wall on the far side. "I had to, Dad."

"You _had _to bring a girl home from that concert you went to last night with out telling us?"

"It's not some random girl, Dad. It's Helga, you've known her for years." He replied in an accusing tone, which made his father lean back slightly in shock.

"Alright then, care to explain _why _you had to bring her here?"

"When I went to the concert last night, I saw Ian there, that new kid I told you about, and I walked up to him and he told me that he was there with Helga. That's when I turned around and she was acting really weird. I wouldn't have known what was wrong with her if Ian hadn't told me. She was drunk."

"There was alcohol there?" Miles angrily asked.

"Ian told me from the people he talked to there, they mix up the drinks all the time. Helga probably didn't even know what she was drinking. I know Helga, Dad. She wouldn't do that on purpose."

"So instead of walking her home, and telling her parents what happened, you bring her here?"

"You know as well as I do that sending her in there alone would have been a death sentence for her. You know what her father is like. And I couldn't just let her fend for herself either. She didn't even know she was drunk, Dad. And I've heard enough stories in the hall ways to know how that ends. Dad if... if something happened to her, and I didn't do everything in my power to prevent it... I would never forgive myself."

His fathers figure seemed to relax and he placed a gentle hand on his sons shoulder. "I know, son."

"When I got her here, Ian told me to make sure she drank at least two glasses of water, and to make sure she got to sleep okay. So I showed her to the empty room we have upstairs, put the trashcan from the bathroom next to the bed, and I stood there until I was sure she was asleep. I think you should know me better than to know I would never take advantage of someone like that, especially Helga."

"I know, son. But she's not a charity case. She doesn't need a social worker, Arnold. She needs a friend. And as far as I'm concerned, she can't get much better than you."

Arnold smiled and looked up at his dad. "Thanks, Dad."

He walked past his father and into the entry way to head to the kitchen when he saw Helga slowly making her way down the stairs with a hint of a warm smile on her face. "Hey." He greeted. She looked up at him and she smiled back at him. He never could get over how gorgeous she looked when she would smile like that, when she was truly happy. She walked past him, and landed a playful slug in the arm as she walked around him and into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Helga." Stella greeted the teen, just getting up to go get dressed.

"Morning, Mrs. Shortman. I hope I'm not... intruding... or anything." She said rather nervously. Stella looked past Helga, and over to Miles, who gave his wife a warm smile and nodded.

"Not at all, dear. You're always a joy to have around. After all, Arnold is always on his best behavior when ever you're around." Stella said as she went past her, putting a gentle hand on the girls shoulder as she went past, and stopping to kiss her husband on the cheek before she went upstairs.

"Does that mean he behaves badly?" Helga jokingly asked as she watched her go. Stella simply shot the girl a glancing smile before she went around the corner.

Arnold was already at the stove and digging around for a pan as Helga sat down at the table, looking rather nervous.

"It's good to see you again, Helga. It's been a while since you stopped by." Miles said, reclaiming his place in front of his paper.

"Well, didn't want you getting sick of me." Helga shrugged.

"Don't sell yourself short, now." Miles said as he opened his paper again.

Arnold was moving about the kitchen, going from the fridge, getting out eggs, bread, ham, and two slices of cheese, and placing everything on the space next to the stove, all the while, having that same warm smile on his face, with that same half lidded gaze that Helga as been in love with as long as she can remember. Arnold put two pieces of bread in the toaster and moved back over to the stove, and cracked an egg open against the pan, and let the egg droop into it.

"So how was the concert last night, kids?" Miles asked.

"Oh, it was awesome! Streetlight Manifesto was amazing!" Arnold said excitedly as he flipped the egg over with ease.

"Yeah, VGS was probably my favorite though." Helga said from across the kitchen.

"Yeah, my favorite part was probably when Supernova was on though. When some one hit the bass guitar string."

"Well," Helga leaned back in her chair, threw her arm over the back, breathed on her nails, and began rubbing them against her shirt. "I do have pretty good aim."

"That was you?!" Arnold asked, as he spun around to look at her.

"Yep." They both laughed, and locked gazes for a second.

"She knows the bong note!"

"She knows the bong note!" They spoke in unison. They both erupted in laughter at the memory of the night before. Arnold had just started to put the egg on the toast, along with the ham he had thrown in the pan as they were talking, along with a slice of cheese. and place it in front of Helga.

"Wow." Helga said, eyeing the egg sandwich he had just prepared for her. "Who knew you could be so housewife."

Arnold chuckled and went back to the stove to prepare his own. "Two years and not a single yoke broken."

Helga began eating, and hummed in satisfaction after her first bite, complimenting him on his culinary skills as she continued to eat. After they had both finished, and Miles told them that he would take care of the dishes, they went back upstairs, after agreeing that Arnold would walk Helga home. Helga went back into the room she was staying in, as Arnold went up to his room to get dressed.

As she sat back down on the bed she slept in for the night, and found her shoes underneath it, she was finally left alone with her thoughts, and his words, that have been on replay in her head since she heard them.

_"If anything happens to her, and I didn't do everything in my power to prevent it, I would never forgive myself." _

She was probably taking his words too seriously, but she needed to believe that he meant something more when he explained to his father the situation. The pessimist inside her was telling her that Arnold would say that about anybody. But the optimist in her was telling her that he really did care deeply for her.

* * *

As Arnold went into his closet for a clean shirt, he finally had time to think. He knew that some of the events of last night would remain a secret. Helga didn't need to know that he practically had to carry her down the street last night, or that he actually did have to carry her up the stairs and into the empty room they had, after she had fallen sleep while resting on the steps outside. Helga didn't need to know that after placing her gently on the bed, and covering her with a blanket, he gently brushed her hair back behind her ear to find her still sleeping peacefully, or how just as about to exit the room, he heard her gently call out to him, with her angelic voice asking him to please not leave her.

She didn't need to know that he knew with out a doubt that, after last night, he was in love with Helga Pataki.

* * *

**A/N: Big shout out to any one who can guess the song arnold was singing. Also, since this is my first post in a while, i would really appreciate some good REVIEWS! much obliged :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Yeah, two chapters in one weekend, what of it! **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine, woe is me!**

* * *

As Helga walked angrily down the hallway of the apartment building, her rage had only grown with each forceful step she took. Once she found the door she was looking for, she stood in front of it and began to knock on the door, a little harder than necessary. He was going to pay for this little scam.

The door opened, and she was greeted with music being played rather loudly, and his broad figure, clad in black denim jeans, and a red t-shirt. "Hey Helga, pleasant surprise." She immediately sent her right fist flying toward his face in fury, but it stopped just short, with it being tightly held in his hand. "Not the worst hello I've ever gotten." He shoved her fist down and cocked an eye brow silently asking her why she had just trying to give him a black eye.

"What the hell was the big idea last night?!" She spat angrily.

"You unintentionally got drunk, I sent you home with Arnold and told him to make sure you didn't chock on your on vomit over the night. I would have done it myself but I had to get my car back here before midnight."

"Damn straight!" A voice yelled out from inside the apartment.

Ian pointed his thumb behind him. "See?"

"So the whole thing was a set up?" She asked, her anger still very much evident in her voice.

"What? You think I knew Arnold was going to be at the show last night, and planned for you to order a soda with 5 shots of hundred proof in it, and have you appeal to his nurturing side and take care of you?" She was fuming, and he knew it. "No, it wasn't a set up. Believe it or not, I had no idea that Arnold would be at the show last night. When I saw him during the headliner, and he said he was alone, I asked about you, because I thought since you two were into some of the same music, you would have at least mentioned the show to each other. That's when you came staggering up, and I had to work quickly." At this point, she was seething, and making no attempt to hide it. "Probably a stupid question, but why are you angry with me?"

"I'm not some Cinderella waiting for her price! I'm not another damsel in distress waiting for her knight in shining armor! I can take care of myself!"

"Come on in. I want to show you something." She narrowed her eyes at him as he beckoned her into his apartment. She slowly walked past him and into his living room, where on the couch sat a guy, looking like he was in his mid twenties, with bleached jeans, and a black t-shirt with the word No spray painted on it, and his hair cut short, with three black strips dyed to make it look like skunk stripes, while reading a book. "Helga, my big brother Tim." He waved in her direction. He walked down the hall way and past the kitchen. "My big sister, or Tim's wife, Tracey." Helga walked into the archway of the kitchen and saw a girl, also mid twenties, with shoulder length natural red hair, that had a dirty blonde look, standing at about five foot seven, wearing a green sweater, with a Beauty and the Beast shirt underneath. "Hi." She spoke, with her chipper voice and the toothy smile she flashed her behind her square rimmed glasses, she gave a slight wave and went back to washing the dishes.

Ian continued down the hall and turned into a room on the right, and she followed him in. She stopped in the entry way of his bedroom. His walls were decorated with multiple band posters, show flyers, and an out of place movie poster for the Toxic Avenger. In the corner next to a small desk sat two guitars, one acoustic, and the other electric, with a key board set up against the wall next to them. On his desk sat three picture frames, one that caught her particular attention was the one in the center, of him and his girlfriend Kelly, with her hugging him from behind, an unbridled smile on her face, with her hazel eyes shimmering and she had her head resting on top of his and he was giving a devious smile, with his blue ones shining just as bright as hers. "So what did you want to show me?" She asked as he sat down at his desk and logged into his computer.

He pulled up his music library and spun around in his chair and propped one foot up on his knee. "You're fiercely independent, right?"

"Doi!"

"Let me share some insight with you." He spun back around in his chair and clicked on his mouse. A moment later, there was a song playing, with the distinct sound of trumpets and saxophones playing. She didn't recognize it, but then again, none of the music he ever played, she knew.

"What does-" He placed his finger over his lips, silencing her and placed a finger up to his ear, gesturing her to listen.

_Will you please hold my hand? _

_I can't, I'm independent._

_I want to be you're man. _

_You can't, I'm independent. _

He paused the song and looked back at her with a smirk on his face. "You get it yet?"

"No, what does that have to do with any of this?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Still don't get it?" He spun back around and clicked once more, and another song came on, and this one, she knew instantly what song it was.

"I hate this song!" He simply shushed her again.

_I want you to want me. _

_I need you to need me. _

He paused the song and spun back around. "I hate that song too, but it's completely true. I don't care what guy you put in front of me, I can tell you one thing about every single one of them. We need to be needed. We want to be wanted. Arnold is no different. And while I respect your independence, that's not what a relationship is about. Arnold is the type of guy who loves to help. Am I right?"

"Well... yeah."

"So, what's that say to him if you deny the one thing he always offers, even when you really need it?" He paused. "As much as you hate to admit it, you needed help last night. If you had just waltzed home by yourself last night, you probably wouldn't have been able to try and deck me a few minutes ago."

As much as she hates to admit it. His 'plan' had actually paid off, some what. When they were walking down the street this morning, he seemed... different. Less reserved. Maybe Ian actually knew what he was doing. Arnold always said growing up that she had a softer side, a kinder side to her, and that one day, he hoped that she would be comfortable enough to show it. "Listen up, bucko!" She marched over to him and bent down and shoved a finger angrily into his chest. "You ever pull something like that again, you'll be having your own teeth for breakfast."

He simply smiled up at her as he chuckled. "I used that one on a guy who smacked Kelly's ass once." She groaned in frustration and spun out to walk out the door. "Nice to see you too, Helga!" He called out to her as she made her way through his living room.

"Later, Hell cat." Tim called from the couch. She stopped when she heard what she had just been called, but decided to let it go and she made her way for the door.

"Helga!" Ian called out from behind her. She spun around and saw him leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "I hope you're night turned out as well as you'd hoped it would." He said slyly, with an obvious implication. He winked and walked into the kitchen. She simply groaned and walked out the door.

* * *

"I don't know, Gerald. It just... hit me!"

"Yeah, that's usually how it works, brotha." Gerald replied as he watched Arnold pace nervously across his bedroom floor. "Mind telling me what it was that did you in?"

"Well, when I brought her back here, I went to unlock the front door, and since she was already falling all over the place, she sat down on the stoop. Once I unlocked the door, she was asleep. And I didn't have the heart to wake her up just to get her to bed easier. So... I, carried her."

"You... carried... her? Like as in, piggy back or... full on bridal?"

"It just, got to me. I mean, she looked so peaceful. Her legs were curled around my arm, she had her hands clasped in her lap, her head was resting against my chest, breathing so slowly, and she had this expression on her face, it like, she was... serene. I almost dropped her at the top of the stairs when she snuggled up against me and moaned. And when I set her down on the bed, and put that old afghan over her, I gently brushed her hair back behind her ear, and she just looked so... so... captivating. I started to leave the room when I heard her call out to me. Asking to 'please, don't leave me.' She sounded almost, helpless, and more scared then I've ever heard her. So I stood there, watching her sleep, for three hours. Three hours, Gerald!"

"Damn bro, you've got it real bad." He said over a laugh.

"You're not helping."

"Listen, Arnold. Last night, Helga needed help. And I know you. And I hate to say it, but sometimes, you've got this whole knight in shining armor complex. You fall for damsels easily, and combine that with the feelings you already had for Helga, I'd be surprised if you didn't completely fall for her."

"But, Gerald, love is such a strong word."

"But is it accurate?"

Arnold leaned against the wall opposite the couch and buried his face in his hands. His thoughts screamed through his head until Gerald spoke up again. "Come on, Arnold. Face it. You didn't fall for Cecilia until she missed her bus and came to you all upset asking to use your cell." Arnold continued to stare back at his best friend, looking scared, if anything. "What I don't get is why all this scares you so much."

"We've known each other since we were practically in diapers, Gerald. Even when she was my own personal torturer, a part of me always considered her a friend. So why, after all this time, do I fall for her now?"

"You fall for damsels, Arnold, face it. And looking back on it, besides Phoebe, you're the only person she's ever asked for help. Or do I need to remind you of what happened with Olga?"

"No... no, I remember." Arnold immediately silenced him. He didn't need to relive that day again.

"Helga needed your help, and being the saint that you are, you helped her. You saw a side of Helga that she's afraid to let any one see, and that's the side you fell for."

"But if you love someone, aren't you suppose to love them as a whole? Not just one side of them?"

"Do you?" Gerald challenged.

Arnold stared back at him for a minute before sinking to the floor and sighing heavily. "I don't know, Gerald. I just don't know."

"Mmm mmm mmm," He stood up and went over to Arnold and sat next to him. "You know what they say, bro, love is like an onion; the more you peel back it's layers, the more it stinks." Arnold looked over to him and laughed, before Gerald slapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, man, let's head to Slausen's, I'll let you buy, Mr. Moneybags."

* * *

School started like it had the previous week. With Phoebe being unusually quiet during the car ride, she would just glance back to Arnold every once in a while, and smile. And Helga and Ian driving together every morning. Ian was quickly becoming a main part of their group. Ian and Helga walked up to the three just getting out of Gerald's car, and greeted each other, and walked into school, separating to go to their lockers. The day dragged on, as usual, but Arnold had trouble focusing on his work. His conflicting thoughts on Helga kept his mind screaming at him all day.

By the time lunch came around, he found his usual seat, where Ian was already sitting, writing in his notebook. The second day he was at school with them, he said that he had switched his schedule around and was now in this lunch, and Arnold was more than happy to have someone to talk to during lunch. "Hey Ian."

"What's up, Arnold." Ian looked up from his notebook as Arnold sat across from him.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for helping me out with Helga. I wouldn't have known what to do."

"Don't mention it, dude. I'm just sorry I had to send you packing before the show ended."

_It was worth it. _"Don't worry about it." They spoke idle chit chat about music, how Arnold ended up getting into it, how he heard about the show, until lunch ended, and they were dismissed to their next class.

Arnold sat down at their table for biology, as always, waiting for her to sit down next to him. He was mostly excited to spend the next hour sitting next to her, with his revelation over the weekend, but he was also dreading it, fearing his mental filter would fail him again. She walked in with her usual bored look, and slumped over in her stool. "Hey Helga."

"Hey Arnold." She replied in a groggy voice.

"No football head?"

"Too tired to pick on you." She said as she folded her arms on the desk and buried her face in them.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Helga."

"S'okay." She mumbled. He silently thanked her for being tired. She never talked too much when she was tired, which means he wouldn't have the chance to say something stupid. As class dragged on, the teacher assigned them a word problem from out of their text books, but Helga made no move to open her book. Arnold sighed and walked up to the teachers desk to excuse himself to 'go to the restroom'. He returned five minutes later to find her still resting her head, on her arms over her book, but she was facing him, that same calming face staring back at him, with her breath causing her back to rise and fall slowly. He placed what he had brought her in her immediate field of vision and called out to her.

"Helga... Helga, wake up." She flickered her eyes open, and they fell upon the candy bar he placed in front of her. She looked up at him with slight surprise and he smiled. "Thought you might need a pick-me-up." He nudged the candy over to her with his elbow and she picked it up and unwrapped it.

"You're a lifesaver, football head." The candy was gone by the time I finally found the question they were assigned. "I got this for you." She placed the empty wrapper on his open textbook. He smiled over at her again and she playfully slugged him in the shoulder.

* * *

Phoebe was walking down the deserted hallway during last period, having just returned from giving a note to a student. Her work as an office aid during last period mostly gave her a chance to relax. She walked back into the main office and stopped. The secretary had left early that day so Phoebe had to fill in and answer any questions a visitor had.

There was a girl at the counter, looking around. She was reasonably tall, about five eight or so. She had on a pair of tight denim jeans, cut off at the ankles with a pair of leather combat boots, an dark blue hoodie, and her hair was cut short, just above her shoulder, with a short pony tail in the middle of the back of her head, with flares of bright red at the ends. She hopped up on the counter, placing her hands on top, and leaning heavily over it to take a look deeper into the back of the office. She jumped down and hummed to herself curiously. "What the hell?" She spoke out loud.

"Can I help you?" Phoebe asked the girl. She spun around at the sound of her voice, and smiled.

"Hey there, I'm lookin' for someone. Think you can help me out?"

"I can try. May I ask who you are looking for?" Phoebe asked as she crossed around to the other side of the desk.

"Name is Ian Calvin Rodgers." She said as she began tapping her black finger nails upon the desk.

_Calvin? _She chuckled to herself and began searching for his class. "He's in class now, but we get out in about ten minutes, if you want to wait."

"Sounds good to me." She shrugged.

Phoebe got out a visitors pass for the girl and a pen. "May I ask your name?"

"Oh, that's right, the whole big brother school system thing." Phoebe chuckled and clicked open the pen and looked back at the girl. "Name is Kelly, Kelly Concord."

* * *

**A/N: I know I know, weird place to end it, but ever since I thought up Ians girl friend, I've wanted to introduce her to this fic. Her character will become more relieved in the next chapter. I really hope you guys like her! **

**But as per the rest of it, please let me know by REVIEWING! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: In this chapter, I introduce a new OC, her name is Kelly. Some of you have pointed out that her arrival will blow the whole Arnold being jealous thing, don't worry! I have a plan! But please let me know what you think of her! **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

* * *

Rhonda and Lila walked down the hall, just coming out of their last class.

"So, I heard Arnold is taking she-beast to homecoming." Rhonda quipped.

"Where does she get off taking an Adonis like Arnold, anyway? Lila spat.

"What are you going to do?"

The two rounded the corner, and Lila stopped. She spotted the new guy. And from the side, he was actually pretty hot. Digging through his locker, the red t-shirt he wore hugged against his broad shoulders, and his large biceps would flex every time I would move his books back and fourth to his locker. His side burns and goatee were always well groomed, along with his wavy brown hair, cut short enough to where it wasn't shaggy, but long enough for it to have a rather handsome wave. "What about him?" Lila pointed toward him.

"You can't be serious. He's such an asshole!" Rhonda spat, looking over toward him, longer than she needed to.

"Yeah, but him and Helga are always hanging out. I'd say she got the hots for him, even if she is going to homecoming with Arnold. Why not ask him and get her jealous. Then once she breaks things off with Arnold for the hot new guy, Arnold will be mine!" Lila schemed. Plan in mind, she ran her fingers through her hair, smoothed down her skirt just before she hiked it up an inch or two. Putting an extra saunter in her step, she approached him, and cleared her throat. He didn't seem to acknowledge her. She cleared her throat a little louder and tapped him on the shoulder. He shut his locker, and turned around. "Hi!" She charmed.

"Can I help you?" He deadpanned.

"I just wanted to introduce myself. It could get ever so lonely having to move to a new school where you don't know anybody." She said while fluttering her eyelashes.

"Well, humans are creatures of adaptation. I'll manage." He moved to step around her, but Lila stepped in front of him.

"I was wondering if you wanted to maybe get some coffee with me after school today." She began to inch toward him. "I could show you around, get you," He backed into the back of his locker while she had been stalking toward him, "acquainted... with Hillwood."

"I appreciate the offer, but uh," He looked nervously behind him while backing even further into his locker. "I have a girlfriend."

"Oh?" Lila was unphased by his declaration of being in a relationship. "I don't see her here."

"Well, unlike some of the other guys around here, I have whats called a backbone, and her not being here doesn't really matter."

"Ooo, I like a man with morals." She placed two fingers in his firm chest and began to walk them up.

"Trust me, I really do have a girlfriend, and she is some one who..."

"SOME ONE WHO WILL NOT HESITATE TO BEAT YOU WITH YOUR OWN ARMS IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR SLUTTY HANDS OFF MY BOYFRIEND!" A voice yelled from down the hall.

"Kelly?" He asked in a whisper.

Lila had visibly jumped at the sound of the girls voice and now had her attention focused on the girl fast approaching her. "You better back up a couple miles, mini skirt, before you're wearing your tongue as a bow tie!" The girl shot a death glare toward her and Lila slowly backed up before going off into a speed walk down the hall.

Kelly turned her attention toward Ian. "What was that all about? I leave you alone for three months and you already have girls trying to rip your clothes off?"

"Kelly? What... how... I..." Ian stuttered.

"Just shut up and kiss me you dunce." Kelly ordered a devilish smile appearing on her face.

Helga watched from her locker a few yards away, watching the event play out. As Ian wrapped his arms around the girls waist, she flung her arms around his neck, forcing him back against his locker as she jumped up to him. They wasted no time in kissing each other with a passion Helga hadn't seen. The girls legs curled back in the air as the attacked each others lisp. As Ian set Kelly back down on the ground, still attached at the lips, he placed a hand on her cheek, while she ran her thin fingers through his hair. It was almost too much for Helga to watch.

Helga slowly approached the couple, just as they were separating, but with each others gazes still locked with the other. She knocked on the locker next to her to get their attention, and cleared her throat. Both of them looked over to her and Helga smiled. "Helga..." Ian said breathless.

"I assume you're Kelly." Helga said, turning toward the girl who still had her hands clasped together behind Ian's neck. Kelly smiled and extended a hand toward her.

"You must be the infamous Helga I've heard so much about." Helga shook Kelly's hand and nodded. "Tell me the truth, Hell cat. Was that the first time that has happened?" Kelly nodded toward where she saw Lila book it out the building.

"Oh, you mean Lila? Not the first time I've seen her offer herself up to someone, first time she's done it to him." Kelly turned a hard look toward Ian.

"First time, I swear." Ian defended himself. Kelly just continued to stare him down. "What?! I'm not good in those situations, remember? I deal with guys, you deal with girls."

"So if it was a guy hitting on you, you would've been fine?"

"You do remember that Leftover Crack show, don't you?" Kelly tried to stifle her laughter, but instead hugged his midsection tightly. "Kelly, what are you doing here?"

"What, I can't come see my own boyfriend?"

"I told you, Kelly, I don't want you to resent me for having to leave your whole life behind just because of me."

"Did you ever stop and think, Ian. You _are _my life. When you left, I was alone. You were the one that made my life some sort of livable. You and I both know that my step-dad doesn't give a shit about me. I'm telling you now, what I told you three months ago. I love you, and I'll be damned if I let you run off again."

Helga had suddenly felt like an intruder. They had locked eyes once again, and just like when Gerald and Phoebe would lock eyes, she was practically blinded by the gleam coming from them. "Well, I'll, uh... see you later, then."

Helga excused herself from the situation rather awkwardly and began to make her way out of the school, forgetting that Ian was her ride until she got out into the parking lot. Checking her phone for the time, the bus had already left. She groaned as she looked around and saw that Gerald had already left. She could just wait for Ian to come out with Kelly, but... deciding to act selfless, she decided to give the long lost lovers some privacy. Lord knows that's what she would want.

She sighed heavily and began walking down the street toward her house. It wasn't the first time she had to walk home, but it was a lot further than PS 118 was from her house. After a block or two, seemingly lost in thought, while counting the cracks in the side walk, listening to her 'Angry at the World' playlist on her phone, complete with some of the angriest, fastest, hardest music out there, she was startled out of her trance when she ran into something, sending her to the ground with an 'Omph'.

"Watch it, pal!" She spat from her place on the sidewalk.

"Oh, sorry, Helga." He said.

"Oh, Arnold." She looked up at his apologetic face, and his hand that was extended downward, trying to help her up. She grabbed onto his wrist, and he pulled her up, until she was standing. She felt him place a hand on her hip once she was on her feet to help get her balance back. She stood, frozen in place, his hand flush against her hip, his other gently running down her arm, brushing past her palm, while his eyes held hers in a magnetizing gaze. Her heart began to pound as she realized he hadn't removed the hand that was plastered on her hip, and his other hand was hovering not even an inch away from hers.

"Helga..." He whispered. Suddenly interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone, he shook his head from side to side, and backed up a few small paces, and the spell was broken. "Yeah?" He answered. "I thought I was off today, Mr. Potts. What? That's the fifth time this month he's had the flu. Alright, I'll be there." He hung up and placed his phone back into his pocket, and looked back up to Helga. "I'm, uh... sorry, Helga, but I have to go." He said, looking rather forlorn about the news.

"Don't let me keep you, football head." She said, trying her hardest to hide the disappointment.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked.

"Unless I actually go through with the whole blow up the school thing before it starts tomorrow, then yeah." He laughed, and turned around to walk back down the street.

"See you tomorrow, Helga!" He called out as he was crossing the street.

* * *

Arnold was rather upset he had to work tonight, especially when he had to take Alex's shift. He called off because he had the flu last week, and the week before that, but, as much as Arnold loathed it, it was good money at his age, and he needed it. As he walked down the street, he tried to think what came over him. The magnetism that had him physically fighting not to lean in and... _Oh god, what would have happened if my phone hadn't rung? _

He looked back to see Helga just rounding the corner across the street, when Ian's Explorer pulled up, and honked a few times. She smiled brightly, and hopped in, as he took off with a screech. He didn't know if this sudden feeling was total anger, or total and complete hopelessness. Was he really imagining the spark that was between them as he helped her up off the ground. Was it all one sided?

After all, her and Ian do drive to school together every morning, and they did go to the concert together. But he has only been here two weeks. How could he and Helga be... he stopped himself as he shook off the thought, not wanting to go there. Deciding now that work was probably the best thing for him, he decided to shake off the weight that had formed in his chest, and head to the site.

* * *

Sitting on her bed with her English book open in front of her, Helga was having a great deal of trouble concentrating on the assignment. She kept imagining his strong hands on her hip. How electric his eyes felt locked with hers. She was quickly becoming flustered, as she ran a hand through her hair.

Her phone started to ring next to her leg and she picked it up, seeing it was Ian calling. "Hey Ian, what's up?"

"Hey Hell cat! It's Kelly."

"Oh, uhm, hey." She said awkwardly.

"Hey, I just wanted to call and ask if you wanted to get some coffee with me after you get out of school tomorrow."

"Uhm, sure, I guess."

"Cool! I'll wait for you outside. We can walk somewhere. See you later, Hell cat!" With that, the line went dead, leaving Helga in a mess of confusion. _Why the hell do they keep calling me Hell cat? _

* * *

"Good job today, Arnold!" Mr. Potts said as Arnold made way off the site. His back was stiff, his arms felt dead, and his legs felt like they had lead weights tied to them. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and took it out of it's protective ziplock bag to call his father to come pick him up. He had just opened it when he saw he had a voice mail, from a number he didn't have in his phone. He called his voice mail and listened.

"Hey there Arnold, it's Ian. Just wanted to know if you wanted to go get something to eat after school tomorrow. Let me know, man. See you later."

He paused. It was weird for Ian to ask him to grab something to eat after school over the phone, why not just ask him at school tomorrow, even weirder was why would he want to at all.

The darkest part of him was telling him that he wanted to talk about Ian's relationship with Helga. Arnold didn't know if he could handle giving advice to him about Helga, even worse, was that if he did, he would be tempted to mislead him. He immediately shook the thought off. _Helga can date whom ever she wants, and if that's not me, then so be it. _

He didn't know what it was like to truly have his heart broken, but if it felt anything like this, he hoped he would never live to suffer through it.

* * *

The next day of school had gone by like any other. Helga arriving with Ian, and Arnold with Gerald and Phoebe. As the day dragged on, Arnold had almost forgotten about Ian asking him to get something to eat after school until he mentioned it at lunch, agreeing that they would take his car to Slausen's.

Helga on the other hand, was still a mist of confusion. Ian wouldn't give anything up about Kelly asking her to coffee, and after one meeting of Kelly, she knew that threats would get her no where with him. So she waited till school let out. After grabbing her remaining books from her locker, she made her way out to the front of school, where she saw Kelly, sitting on a railing next to the bike racks, kicking her boots against the bars, with a pair of baggy cargo shorts, and Ian's leather jacket that he wore to the show over the weekend. She waved and came walking up, and Helga noticed how large Ian's jacket looked on the girl.

"Hey Hell cat!" She blue a bubble with her gum and popped it.

"Hey Kelly." Helga greeted her.

"So, correct me if I'm wrong, but there should be a place just a few blocks from here, right?" She began looking away, and spinning in a circle. "That way, right?" She pointed her arm straight out in the direction of the local coffee shop, with the sleeve of Ian's jacket coming off her arm about six inches.

"Yeah. Not the best coffee in the world, but it gets us by." Helga began to walk with Kelly away from the school. Helga took the silence to take in the girl. She had a comical bounce to her step, almost as if she was skipping. She had a peaceful look on her face as she chewed on her gum, just before she took it out of her mouth and placed it against a passing parking meter. She stopped and looked up at the sign of the coffee shop, and looked over at Helga. "This the place?" She asked just before she flung the door open and went up to the counter, ordering herself an unsweetened iced tea, while Helga went with an iced mocha. They picked up their orders and went to an empty table in the corner of the cafe.

"So, what's up?" Kelly asked as she popped off the lid to her cup and poured in a packet of sugar.

"Nothing much, you asked me here remember?" Helga asked, taking a sip of her mocha.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that guy you're after. What was his name again? Arnold?"

"You what?" She asked in a small voice. That's why she wanted to have coffee?

"Yeah. Ian told me all about it, and while his heart is in the right place, he doesn't always know what he's talking about." Kelly said as she leaned back in her chair.

"Um, okay... so..." Helga gestured for her to elaborate.

"So, when did it start?"

"When did what start?"

"Come on, Hell cat! When did you start liking him?"

"Okay, first of all, why the hell do you keep calling me Hell cat?" Helga asked, out of frustration.

Kelly laughed rather loudly. "What, you don't like it? Your name is Helga, and from what Ian has told me, you're the type of person I can get along with. Take no crap from anyone, never afraid to stand up to some one who needs knocked off of their high horse, you're strong. You're a Hell cat, Helga... Hell cat. It's cool!"

Helga chuckled to herself. "Okay, that makes sense I guess."

"But don't change the subject. When did you start liking Arnold?"

"It was uh... just uhm, last year." Helga looked over at Kelly, who didn't look amused.

"Got it out of your system? Now when did you _really _start liking him?"

She sighed to herself and slumped back in her seat. _Should I really tell her? I just met this girl for god sakes. _"A long time ago." She paused and looked up at Kelly, who was waving her hand in a circle, telling her to continue. "I was three. I was in preschool, and one day, I came down stairs, and my older sister was home, and of course, being the center of the freaking universe that she is, my parents didn't even notice me. They just sat their, and bragged about _Olga_. I had my lunch box and everything, and I told them I was leaving, but they just... didn't notice. So, I left."

"Wait wait wait. You walked... to preschool... alone... in New York... when you were three?!" Kelly asked in surprise.

"It gets better. This particular day, I had the good fortune of it to be raining that morning. I got to a cross walk, and a passing car splashed mud all over me, head to toe, all over my pink overalls. Then some stupid dog stole my lunch box. By the time I actually got to preschool, I was on the verge of tears. I was alone, wet, muddy, I doubt my own family even noticed I had left. I was standing at the entrance to preschool, when suddenly, the rain stopped. I looked up, and there was an umbrella being held over me. I looked to my left, and there he was. He was covering me with his umbrella, with this... stupid smile on his face." She was letting her emotions get the better of her, as she crossed her arms and looked down at her drink sitting on the table, just before she swiped away a stray tear from her cheek with her thumb. "First thing he ever said to me. 'Hi, nice bow.' I stopped and said 'huh', because, after all, it was the first time any one ever noticed me. Then he walked me to the door under his umbrella and said 'I like your bow, 'cause it's pink like your pants.'" She let a wet chuckle escape her as she quickly tried to wrangle in her emotions.

Helga looked across the table to Kelly, who had a warm, heartfelt smile on her face. "Wow. I'm surprised you didn't tackle him then. But, why wait this long to have a shot with him?"

"That's where the story really begins. It was snack time, and we had gram crackers, but this fat ass stole mine, and ate it right in front of me, and laughed in my face. I was about to bawl my eyes out, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw him, handing me his plate. I took it, and he smiled, and walked away. And being the dumb three year old I was, I swooned, and the fat ass who just stole my crackers saw me, and started to make fun of me. That's when it happened. I just... snapped. Instead of embarrassed, I just became... angry. It's like, something just clicked in my brain. I decided to stop letting people use me as their own personal door mat. But... in the process, I ended up using him as mine. I tormented him, for years, and years. Just hoping that he would never catch on to my true feelings toward him. But no matter how badly I treated him, no matter how many spit balls I shot at him, or rubber bands I flicked at him, he was always so nice to me. Even today. I made his life a living hell, but he was the reason I got through mine."

"And... I'm guessing he doesn't know any of this."

"Are you kidding? Of course not!"

"Let me share my story. I met Ian in the third grade. He was quiet, didn't have any friends, sort of a loner. I noticed him because every afternoon, his big brother, Tim would walk him home. Tim's the reason he never got bullied. Try having a big brother who has a 7 inch mo hawk and wears combat boots look out for you. At that age, he was cute, but quiet. I, on the other hand, was a free spirit. You know, I was listening to Journey and Black Sabbath in the third grade, while every one else was listening to what ever was on MTV. Time went on, and in the seventh grade, he started to show his true colors. We were working on that essay thing, where they gave you a topic, and you had to write for or against it. A few days later, we were in class, and the principal came in and asked for him. I found out that instead of writing about the topic, he wrote about how stupid the topic was, and how useless and mechanical our educational system is. They couldn't punish him either because every teacher who read it said he wrote the best paper. After I heard about this, I started to become interested in him. You know that old notebook he's always scribbling in?"

"Yeah, I never see him with out it."

"I stole it one day, and read it. It was just page after page on the most insightful ranting I've ever seen. Everything from the government to Monsanto, to religion, just... everything. I gave it back to him, and he never said a word to me after that. Then I came up with a plan. I decided to get his attention. I sneaked into his garage, making sure to make a lot of noise, and grabbed a coat hanger, and started to shove it down the window. He came running out and asked me what the hell I was doing. And I said what ever the hell I want. We became friends after that, we started listening to music together, hanging out a lot, and one day, we were getting lunch off campus in high school, and some creep grabbed my ass, and whistled. I could have stood up for myself, but before I knew it, Ian had the guy face down on the counter with his arm twisted behind his back. Now, I'm not into that whole knight in shining armor thing, but that did it. We got together after that."

"Wow. I never thought of him as that kind of guy."

"Oh, he usually uses his wits now a days. You know all those one liners he has? I would give you one, but I'm all out of fucks? Get your nose out of the air and look me in the eye? Yeah, those are all mine. He never had any confidence. But, you've met him now."

"Yeah, his first day here he told off the schools rich girl because he would move to the side of the hall way for her."

Her face lit up and a bright smile appeared on her face. "That's my Ian."

"Point is, when Ian and I first met, we were polar opposites. I was out going, free spirited, but still had a spine. While he, on the other hand, was quiet, reserved, hella smart, but just didn't have an outlet. When we first met, it was like yin and yang, but once we got together, we evened each other out. And right now, I'm looking at the same situation."

"What do you mean."

"From what Ian has told me, and from what you've told me, Arnold is a very giving person, he'd go out of his way to help some one, he's always very nice, and sweet. While you are, well... you're a Hell cat."

"I don't see how any of this helps me."

"What I'm saying is that a guy like Arnold will not make the first move. He will stay at the same level out of fear that he is making you uncomfortable. So, it's up to you."

"How would you know?"

"Because Ian was the same way! It took him four months to be able to kiss me in public, and even then, it was just a peck on the cheek. But now, well, you've obviously seen us."

"I think everyone saw you."

"My point exactly, and does he care?"

"Well... no."

"See?"

Thirty minutes later, they had finished their drinks, while Kelly paid for them, they walked out and parted ways. Maybe Kelly was right. Maybe she did have to make the first move. The only reason he actually did ask her to homecoming was because she called him out on Sid and he let it slip. So, maybe she did need to take things into her own hands.

* * *

**A/N: So, a lot of Kelly in this chapter. I hope you guys like her! I know that this is a weird place to end this chapter, but it's five am and I am kinda late for work writing this. But it was worth it to have the conversation between Helga and Kelly end up like it did. **

**Please REVIEW and let me know what you think of Kelly! **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:I am completely revising the old chapter ten. It felt like I rushed it, and didn't draw out the story where necessary. So, Im cutting it up into three chapters. There is one scene added in this chapter. It is the scene where Arnold and Helga talk about homecoming. **

**A/N2: So chapter 12 will be up to tonight, stupid quacker city castings have decided to make me work on a saturday, so I will not be able to finish editing it. So i'm just going to post the new chapter 10 and 11. Please let me know what you think! REVIEW! **

**ALSO! the new cover art credit goes to the lovely and talented Panfla! She is amazing! She captured Kelly PERFECTLY! Thank you so much! YOU ROCK!**

* * *

Arnold walked out into the parking lot and began to search for Ian's car. He spotted him down a ways, leaning against the trunk, legs crossed and his hands in his pockets. "Hey Ian." Arnold greeted.

"Hey man." Ian shoved off the car and moved around to the driver side and slid in, with Arnold doing the same on the other side. He started the car and Ian began searching through his CD case that lay in the middle. He pulled a CD out and stuck it in, and Arnold knew the voice of the vocalist immediately.

"Is this Tomas Kalnoky?" Arnold asked.

"Yeah, it is. He released a solo acoustic CD a while back. Feel free to dig through my CD's, dude." He backed out of his parking space, and pulled out of the school. Ten minutes of heavy traffic later, they were parked in front of Slausens.

They went up to the counter and ordered, and found a booth by the entrance. "So, what's up man." Ian asked.

"Not much." Arnold said, trying to play off the awkwardness that he felt coming off of the situation. The waitress came over and set down Ian's basket of fries and Arnold's small sundae. "So, uhm, about you and Helga, I just want to let you know, that if you're looking for my... blessing, or what ever, then... go ahead."

Arnold looked across the table to Ian, who had three fries half way in his mouth, and had a look of shock on his face. "Huh?"

"You and Helga. Don't let me stand in your way. She's a... great person."

"What the hell are you talking about, dude?" He said with a chuckle.

"You mean, you aren't..."

"You thought Helga and I were dating?" He began to laugh hysterically. He went on for about thirty seconds, and Arnold was beginning to get angry. _What is so funny about that? He'd be lucky to be dating Helga! _"No, dude. Helga and I are not dating. I have a girlfriend." He began to dig in his pocket for something, and pulled out a crumpled photo and slid it across the table. Arnold picked up the photo and examined it. With the girl looking as if she had just hopped in his arms, and yelling in excitement, they did look like boy friend and girl friend. "Helga and I are just friends man." Ian said, taking back the photo and sliding it back into his pocket.

"Oh." Arnold replied in a small voice, just before taking a small spoonful of his ice cream.

"But you're right, she is an awesome girl."

"Yeah, she is." Arnold felt a noticeable shift in himself, the weight in his chest had evaporated, filling him with a new sense of... hope. Maybe he wasn't imagining the pull he felt toward Helga yesterday after all.

"Anyway, why would I ask Helga out when she is going with you to homecoming? I may be a jerk, but I'm not an asshole." Ian said as he popped a few more fries into his mouth. Arnold laughed at his joke and took another spoonful of his ice cream. "Now, I don't mean to butt in, or anything, but what's the deal with you two?"

"Me and Helga? It's... complicated."

"Mind if I ask what makes it so complicated?"

"Well, I mean, we've known each other since preschool. But back then she was... well... I don't want to say mean, but, she picked on me a lot. But I knew she was just lashing out. She's had..." _choose your words carefully this time, moron! "_personal problems for some time. But I always considered her a friend. Now, she's more laid back but still..."

"A fighter." Ian threw in.

"Exactly. She's so courageous, smart, she's nothing like any other girl I've met. She's challenging, she makes me go the extra mile. All the other girls I've ever met just seem so... plain compared to her. It's like, there's one side that everyone sees, the side that she shows everyone, then there's the side she shows me. I just wish there was a way I could get her to show me that side more often."

"When did you start liking her?"

This conversation had suddenly taken a personal turn, and how it happened, Arnold could not tell. "Uh..."

"I'm not trying to be your therapist, dude. Just here as a friend."

Arnold sighed and decided to lay it all out. "I don't know really. It's like I just looked up one day, and suddenly, the little girl who wore a pink dress, a pink bow, pig tails and a scowl was... a woman. I guess I first noticed when I first saw her kissing a guy."

"Jealousy is a very powerful thing. Trust me, I know."

"I mean, it wasn't... intense or anything, it was just like a peck on the lips but I guess I realized that she's not a little girl anymore." Arnold looked up at Ian, and he was studying him with a squinted look. He leaned back and crossed his arms. Ian stared at him for a minute, just stayed silent, wearing a confident half smile. "What?"

"I know that look."

"What look?" Ian dug out his photo again and stared at it for a minute. He tapped his finger against the photo a few times before speaking.

"This look." His eyes remained on the photo as his smile turned soft. "I've been in love with this girl for a long time. When we first became friends, we had this connection. I was the uptight, angry, anti social anarchist who hated everybody, while she was the out going, free spirited, social butterfly that still had no respect for authority. Before she came along, there was no bright side to look on. I was just so angry at everything, the world, the people in it, but she reminds me that there are some people in this world that aren't so bad." He paused and gazed down at the photo with a loving smile on his face. "What I'm getting at is when a girl like Kelly," Ian looked back up to Arnold. "or Helga, come along, you can't let them slip through your fingers. Girls like them don't come along too often." Ian stood up and pulled out his wallet chain, and tossed a ten down. "You want a ride back to your place?"

"No, that's alright, I can walk. Thanks though." Ian said his goodbye and walked out into his car, and drove off, leaving Arnold in a jumbled mess of thoughts. He knew Ian was right, on some level, but, he didn't get it! It wasn't that simple! He knew he was thinking out of fear, that it wouldn't work, that their basic differences would lead them down a path they couldn't come back from. But Ian was right about one thing, girls like Helga didn't come along too often.

* * *

Helga paced back and fourth across her bedroom floor, looking at her phone sitting on her mattress. She had been working up the courage to call him all night, especially after her talk with Kelly. She crossed her arms, staring down her phone, and sighed heavily. "Just do it, already!" She shouted to herself. After a few steadying breaths, she snatched up her phone and started to call him before she could talk herself out of it.

As the dial tone rang in her ear, she was quickly getting nervous. When his voice came through the other end of the line, she felt herself jump. "Hello?"

"Hey football head." She hoped that her voice came across as casual.

"Hey Helga, what's up?"

"Just got off the phone with Phoebe and she wants to go dress shopping for homecoming on Friday after school, so if you were serious about it, then speak now." She was surprised that she came up with a lie that quickly. True, she was lying to him, but one more phone call, and it wouldn't be a lie.

"Oh, yeah. I was, I mean, if... you were." _'He won't do anything that he thinks will make you uncomfortable.' _

"Would I have said yes if I wasn't?"

He chuckled. "No, I guess not. So, tomorrow after school then? We can... work out the details."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Lucky you!"

"Ha, yeah, lucky me. Good night, Helga."

"Night, Arnold." She hung up and tossed her phone back on the bed, and stared off into space. _This is really happening. I'm going out with Arnold tomorrow to talk about going to homecoming together! _A bright and surprised smile appeared on her face, and soon disappeared as another thought shot through her head. Picking up her phone again, she hit call under the correct contact. "Hey Pheebs, it's Helga. You busy on Friday?"

* * *

Helga walked out of music theory, rubbing her head after the jumble of lines and dots that Mr. Meredith called music, and made her way down to her locker. She grabbed her composition notebook, and a few more textbooks and closed her locker, and then moved to go meet Arnold at his. She stopped when she saw that, once again, he had company. Any other day, she would have walked away, and tried to pay it no mind, but _they _had plans. She quickly walked up, just as Arnold was getting backed into his locker.

"Sorry, Lila, but I can't tonight. I have a date." Helga stopped her trek at his words. _A date? He's calling this a date? If this is a date, then does that mean we are dating? Am I really dating Arnold Shortman? _Helga saw Arnold's eyes flick up to hers and quickly flick back down to Lila. "I uh... appreciate the offer though." Helga watched as Arnold moved his way past her to walk over to her, while Lila watched him angrily as he made his way over to where Helga was standing. She narrowed her vision over to them before tromping her way out the door.

"Looks like you have a pest problem." Helga said casually as he made his way over to her.

"Ha, sorry about that. She won't leave me alone." Arnold grumbled and looked over his shoulder toward the entrance.

"Well, you ready?"

"Yeah, just waiting for you." Helga moved past him with a slug in the arm.

The two walked through the doors of the cafe and went to the counter, Arnold ordering an iced coffee, and Helga ordering her usual iced mocha. Helga moved to pay for it, but by the time she had, Arnold was being given change. He picked up the two drinks and handed Helga hers, then went to sit down at the same table she talked to Kelly at the day before.

"So, uh... where should we start?" Arnold asked.

"I'm not sure, what time is this thing?" Helga took a long sip of her drink.

"It's starts at seven, but knowing my parents, they are going to want a ton of pictures, so I might need to leave at half past six."

"And I assume the love birds are going?"

"Yeah, Gerald is coming over at five and we are going to drive over to pick you and Phoebe up."

"Well, Phoebe practically pulled my arm off wanting to get ready with me, so why don't you just pick me up at her house."

"Alright, that makes things easier, I guess."

"So is there like a... theme to this thing? Or something?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"For your information, football head, I don't go to dances that much."

"Why is that?"

"No one's ever really asked me." She brushed it off like no big deal and took another long sip of her mocha.

"Oh." Arnold nodded. _Say something reassuring, but not too sappy. _"Well, there's a first time for everything."

Helga looked back up at him, and, as always, he had that half smile that she fell in love with plastered on his face. "Yeah, I guess so."

They sat in comfortable silence for a minute, each one taking sips from their drinks, until Arnold softly broke the it. "Helga?" She looked up at him questioningly. "I'm uh... I'm really glad I asked you."

Inside, her heart soared. He really _wanted _to go with her. _Oh Arnold, are you finally opening the eyes that I've gazed lovingly at from afar to see where I sit patiently in front of you? Oh how I... FOCUS! _She chuckled lightly and leaned back in her chair again. "Don't get too mushy on me, football head."

He laughed and looked across the table and into her eyes. "Sorry, Helga."

"Geez, I'm kidding, football head. Lighten up, you remind me of Olga sometimes."

"You heard from her at all?" He asked with out realizing the territory he had just entered.

Luckily, Helga wasn't venturing into it. "Nope." She simply said just before she took another long sip of her mocha, having it stutter after a second, forcing her to mix it up, paying no attention, and completely deflecting his question. "Hey, do you have the notes from Biology? I kind of zoned out today."

"Yeah, I noticed." He said, deciding to ignore her deflection. He already knew the answer to his question, after all, he knew even if she did come back, she would never speak to Olga again.

"And besides, why bother taking notes when I have you." She leaned over to retrieve the papers he was handing her, but quickly retracted them.

"Because that's not the point." He held his notes just out of her reach.

"Just give me the notes, football head!" She began to grasp for them from across the table.

"Promise to pay attention next time?"

"What are you gonna do, slap my hand with a ruler? Make me sit in the naughty corner?" He eyed her, silently asking her to give him a real answer. "Fine," she placed her hands in front of her, letting them fall limp in front of her. "I'll pay attention next time." She said in a deep voice, mocking him. He smiled and handed her his notes.

"Thank you."

The conversation went on for another ten minutes, talking about the recent activities of their friends, joking at the antics of others, and some how, they ended up reminiscing on their past.

"Ha, you think that's bad? Try learning how to shave with the same razor grandpa used in the war. I still chafe sometimes."

"Try having the sex talk with a person like Olga."

"Try having the sex talk from the woman who delivered you in the middle of the jungle of South America."

"Try going through your first period with a sister like Olga. Geez, she's the only person I've ever met that would cry over something like that."

She was focusing on Olga too much, and he could tell. _I need to get her off the topic of Olga, and quick. _"Try having your Grandpa make fun of you for three years straight because your voice is changing."

She erupted in laughter. "HA, I remember that." They laughed together until Helga looked down at her watch, and saw that it was almost five. "Wow, it's getting pretty late. I better get home, don't want to end up in a parallel universe where Bob actually gives a damn."

"Alright, I'll walk you home." He said, slipping his jacket over his shoulders.

"You don't have to do that, football head, I can take care of myself."

"It's more for me that it is for you Helga."

Helga pursed her lips and eyed him. "Alright, fine." She strolled out with Arnold in tow. Some time later, they were at Helga's door, and had stopped to bid each other farewell. "Well, thanks for the coffee, I had a good time."

"Yeah, me too. We should do it again some time."

"Yeah..." She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night, Arnold." She said, opening the door.

"Good night, Helga."

* * *

"I don't know, Phoebe. They all look too... frilly." Helga nagged as her and Phoebe searched through rack upon rack of dresses.

"I could always fit you for a kimono, Helga." Phoebe said slyly. Helga said a side glace over to her friend from the other side of a rack.

"OOO, what about this one!?" Kelly called from the other side of the store, jumping up and down a few times to make herself seen. Helga quickly made her way over to the girl and looked at the dress she was holding out. Helga gave the dress a once over and looked back up at Kelly.

"You've got to be kidding." Kelly stuck out her tongue between her teeth and put the dress back. Helga had invited Kelly along to get a third opinion, and Helga found that she was a lot of fun to hang around with. She was a very lively person. "I don't know, non of these seem like... me." Kelly crossed her arms and started rubbing her chin with her fingers, while scrunching her brow, feigning concentration, and started to pan the store. She stopped and crossed to the other side of the store and stopped in front of a rack, and stuck her arm straight out and pointed, the arm of Ian's leather jacket falling off of her finger. Kelly looked back over her shoulder to Helga, who had a look of curiosity, while Phoebe made her way to where Kelly was pointing. Phoebe smiled as she looked at the dress and looked back at Helga, who moved the hanger to get full view, and gave it a once over.

"Ladies," Kelly stood in between Helga and Phoebe, with all eyes locked on the dress. "I think we found a winner."

* * *

The next Monday, Helga had received a call from Ian, saying he would be a little late picking her up, so she sat at the bus stop a little longer, when she saw him pull up. Making her way to the passenger side, Helga looked up and saw Kelly's bright smile greet her, with a wave. She hopped in the back seat and buckled her seat belt.

"Hey, Hell cat!" Kelly said, turning around in her seat to greet Helga.

"Hey Kel, you starting school with us?" Helga asked.

"Nah, just going to raise some hell." Kelly gave a devious smile before turning back around. Ian looked over to his girlfriend and placed an open palm between them, just before Kelly hi-fived it. They made their way to school and soon found themselves walking through the front doors, Ian and Kelly hugged closely against each other, with Kelly wrapping herself around Ian's arm and entwining their fingers together. They came to a stop just outside Helga's and Ian's homeroom, upon finding out that Kelly had been given a different home room.

"Okay, beautiful, if any one gives you any trouble, just..."

Kelly interrupted him with a chuckle. "What? Blow a whistle? Send up a smoke signal? Ooo!" She snapped her fingers. "I've got it, bat signal." She joked while narrowing her still devious smile at him. "Would you stop being such a worry wart! I can handle myself. I am still the master at one liners, remember?"

"Learned from the best." Ian said with a smile as he brought her in for a quick kiss. "I'll see you at lunch, beautiful."

"Later, baby!" She went walking off, and Helga and Ian turned to head into home room. "Wait wait wait wait!" Kelly came running back just before she placed one last kiss on Ian's lips, and went off down the hall way again. The hour went by, with Ian smiling like a love struck fool the whole time.

* * *

Arnold walked into the lunch room and went through the line and went to his regular table, where, as usual, sat Ian. But today, he wasn't alone. Arnold rounded the table and sat down across from where he saw a girl, who come to think of it, looked oddly familiar, leaning into him with his arm over her shoulders and her playing with his fingers. "Hey Ian."

"Oh, hey Arnold. This is..."

"You're Arnold?! So you're the guy I've heard so much about. Nice to meet you Arnold." She reached across the table and shook his hand, then leaned back into Ian. "My name is Kelly."

"Yeah, I recognize you from the photo." Arnold saw Ian's eyes widen in shock.

"Photo? What photo?" Ian began to make a cutting motion through his neck at Arnold, telling him to be quiet about it. Kelly looked over to Ian, and he feigned ignorance.

"Ian... what... photo?" Kelly asked seriously. Ian shrugged, but Kelly raised her eye brows at him. Ian deflated and reached into his back pocket. He held the photo between his two fingers up to her, and looked away. Kelly took the photo and opened it. "IAN! I've been looking for this picture for months! How could you not tell me you took it? This is my favorite picture of us!" Kelly looked genuinely hurt, and Ian was not hiding the look of guilt. "Ian, why did you take it?"

"You'll think it's sappy."

"It's better than me wanting to play jump rope with your intestines."

Ian sighed and looked down at the photo that she had open in her lap. "That night, at the show, Jake was hammered and taking random pictures, and he said 'Ian, smile', and then out of nowhere, you came running at me and jumped into my arms, and you trusted me to catch you. It's like, in that moment, I knew just how much you loved me." Kelly smiled a watery smile, and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

"You're so cute when you're sappy."

"I find that a little insulting, considering I _always _think you're cute."

Kelly leaned back into him. "You try too hard, sometimes."

"Would you rather me not try at all?" Ian asked, sending a raised eye brow and a smile down to her.

She smiled and looked back to Arnold. "Good point."

Arnold smiled at watching the couple interact. They seemed so fluid, so connected, so... meant for each other. Forty-five minutes later, the bell rang for class, and the three got up from their seats and headed for the hall way. Once they reached the intersection, Ian kissed Kelly on the lips before heading into the music room, as Kelly made her way down the hall way opposite him. He sighed to himself. After watching the couple interact so easily, bantering back and fourth with such ease, Arnold was becoming more than a little jealous.

_How do you do it?_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So this entire chapter is homecoming. There were a few scenes between Ian and Kelly I wanted to write, that I didn't bother, and I did feel that I cheated you guys out of an emotional build up between Helga and Arnold. So Im going to try it again. Hope you guys like it! **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine, woe is me!**

* * *

"I'm kind of nervous, Gerald. Is it bad to be nervous, because I'm a little nervous. Do I look nervous to you? Because I feel a little nervous."

"Arnold! Bro! You need to calm down! Just... chill." Gerald said, leaning back on the couch in Arnold's room.

"Just... chill? Gerald, how can I just chill?"

"It's easy, really. Just take a few deep breaths and cool your jets, man." Arnold breathed deep, and tried to calm his frantic nerves. "I don't know what you're freaking out about. It's just Helga."

"Just Helga? Gerald, this is make it or break it, here. If tonight has one single hitch in it, that's it! My chances are gone!"

"Arnold! If you keep freaking out about it, then it will. It's not like you asked her to elope or anything. Just go to the dance, and have a good time with Pheebs and I. She already likes you, so all you need to do is not make an ass out of yourself... which you seem to be doing right now."

"You're right, you're right. No big deal. Just go and have fun... with the girl I might be in love with and has no clue. Gerald..." Arnold whined.

Gerald crossed the room and tossed Arnold his silk shirt. "Just, get ready, would you? You keep worrying about it, and your gonna miss your chance to screw it up." Arnold flung his shirt over his shoulders and picked up his sports coat off of his bed. He tucked in his shirt and put on his sports coat, smoothed back his gelled hair, and looked over to Gerald.

"Do I look alright?"

"That is a question that I refuse to answer. Ask your mom." They headed down stairs and were blinded by the flash of a camera.

"There they are! Oh, you boys look so handsome!" Stella said, straightening the collar of Arnold's shirt.

"Yep," Miles came around next to Arnold and swung his arm over his shoulders and shook him with pride. "us Shortman's clean up nice."

"You better believe it! Why I remember I was the best lookin' guy for five miles around." Phil said, coming out of the kitchen.

Another flash of the camera blinded Arnold and Gerald, and, looking at the clock, Arnold was beginning to get more antsy than he already was. "Listen Mom, we're going to be late if we don't leave now. We still got to pick up the girls."

"Oh, alright. Go, have fun!" She tugged on the lapels of his coat before smoothing them down and looking up at his son. Miles clapped him on the back, and the ushered them out the door.

"Knock 'em dead, short man!" Phil called from the door, just before the boys hopped in Gerald's car.

"You still nervous?" Gerald asked as he started his car.

"I'll let you know in a minute."

* * *

"Oh, you look absolutely radiant, Helga!" Phoebe said as she looked at Helga through the mirror.

"You think so?" She asked as she twirled from side to side, to check how the dress fit.

"Positively. He's going to be speechless." Phoebe crossed over to her bed and picked up a pair of heels they had picked up last Friday and handed them to Helga, who then sat down and put them on.

Helga finished with the straps and paused. "Phoebe..."

"Yes, Helga?"

"I... I'm scared." She admitted, while fiddling with her finger nails.

"Of what, Helga?" Phoebe asked in a soft, concerned voice.

"What if... what if it doesn't work out. What if we get together, but we end up breaking up. I mean, I've waited my whole life to finally be with him, and I've based part of myself around the idea that someday, Arnold and I might actually end up together but... what if... what if he's not the one?"

"There's only one way to find out, Helga." Phoebe wrapped her arm around Helga's and stood her up. "You need to focus on the positive, Helga. Just for tonight, don't worry about what might happen, or what has happened, just focus on what is happening."

Helga smiled sadly as they exited Phoebe's bedroom. "Thanks, Pheebs."

"But keep in mind, that if he does hurt you, I will be forced to do what the English did to William Wallace." Phoebe said as a matter of factly. Helga laughed brightly just as the doorbell rung. They each smoothed down their dresses once more before making their way down the stairs. They both stopped half way down when they saw Gerald talking to Phoebe's parents, and laughing, along with another pair of legs, the rest being hidden from view.

"There she is! The most gorgeous woman to ever grace the world with her presence!" Gerald shouted as he spotted Phoebe, dawning in a blue dress, coming just above her knees, with a gold flower running down the side. She made her way down the stairs and into an embrace with her boyfriend, dressed in black slacks, and a dark blue dress shirt, matching his date. They walked to the door and waited.

Helga's nerves and heart rate were racing, her breath was shallow and she could feel her heart pound. _This is it, Helga, old girl. Night you've been waiting for._

* * *

Arnold and Gerald walked up Phoebe's stoop, while Gerald knocked. Arnold looked over to his best friend, while he mouthed 'chill'. _Right, chill. This is no big deal. You're just going to a dance, with a girl who used to pick on you, whom you've known you're entire life, and who you might be in love with, no biggie. _The door swung open while Reba greeted the two boys and ushered them in. "The girls will be right down. Make yourselves at home."

"Thanks, Mrs H., just here to pick up our dates."

"Ah, well, here they are now." Reba waved to the girls just coming down the stairs, and Gerald wasted no time in declaring his love for her and taking her arm to walk outside. Arnold took a few deep breaths, knowing he was out of site. He closed his eyes and put on a confident smile. He walked up a few paces and stopped.

His gaze locked upon a vision that made his heart skip a beat, then jump up into his throat. _She is... miraculous. _He felt his heart sore as she looked back at him. "Wow..." was all he managed. Her silk pink dress hugged against her shapely hips and came down to just above her knees. The bodice hugged against her frame perfectly, coming to a 'v' just in the right place, with the inch wide straps going over her thin shoulders. She was... perfect.

"Come on, football head. Don't want to be late." She hopped down the stairs and walked past him to their friends waiting patiently for them.

* * *

_Get a hold of yourself, Helga! _She took a deep breath as she watched him walk into view. If she had any feeling in her legs, she would probably tackle him to the ground. He was dressed in black slacks, a black sports coat, and a dark emerald green silk shirt, that brought out is already bright eyes in an amazing way. His hair was gelled back, with one strand of hair left out, dangling in front of his face.

"Wow..." He said quietly.

_That's a good thing right, him saying wow, I mean, you don't say wow unless your being wow'd, and you're not wow'd unless your surprised, and not surprised in a bad way like 'wow that is disgusting' but more like 'wow that is amazing', which means him saying wow is... FOCUS CHUM-FOR-BRAINS! _"Come on, football head. Don't want to be late." She forced every next thought into making it down the stairs in one piece, and with her dignity still in tact. They walked outside where Phoebe and Gerald were already sitting in the front seats. Helga looked over to Arnold, who had the car door opened for her, with his hand being held out to help her in. _Oh wow, he's good. _She smiled over to him, took his hand and sat down.

* * *

They arrived at the school ten minutes later, and found their way to the gym. It was packed. The dance floor was already alive with movement, as the lights that had been set up illuminated the space with colors and flashes that added to the loud music being played. There were tables of refreshments lined up along one wall, and Harold was already helping himself, with a few others walking away with glasses of punch.

"Come on, Gerald! Let's dance!" Phoebe said as she pulled on his arm, and dragged him into the crowd.

"No one likes this type of music, but that's why it's fun!" A voice came from behind them. Helga and Arnold turned around to find Kelly, clad in a silk red dress and combat boots, dragging Ian through the doors by the arm that was being restrained by his hands in the pockets of his white slacks. Kelly looked over to them and smiled. "Hey guys!"

"Hey Kel!" Kelly hopped forward and embraced Helga in a hug. "You look great!" Her dress came just below her knees and had much the same shape that Helga's did. Ian looked clean and pressed, with white slacks, and a black short sleeved Dickies dress shirt, the sleeves short enough to where the bottom of his tattoo could be seen, and his black ascot cap.

"You too, Hell cat! Am I good or what?" Kelly said, motioning to the dress she had helped pick out.

"I didn't figure you for a school dance type of person, Ian." Arnold said.

Ian looked over to Arnold with a blank expression, and nodded his head down to his girlfriend, hoping Arnold would get the message that he was not thrilled to be here. "Oh, it will be fun! So, smile!" She tugged on Ian's shirt with both hands, and pouted up at him. He looked down at her, and after a moment of pause, he flashed a small smile to his girlfriend. Her face light up right away as she bounced on the balls of her feet. "That's better." Kelly wrapped her arms around Ian's and they walked over to the refreshments table.

"Something tells me he's going to light something on fire before tonight is up." Arnold threw in, as the two watched the couple walk away.

"I'm more worried about her killing somebody with those boots." Helga replied. They laughed and followed them over to the tables. Kelly was being the social butterfly she was described as, introducing herself to everyone she saw, and making it a point to introduce Ian as her boyfriend. Arnold walked over to the punch bowl and filled a small cup and handed to Helga. Helga took a sip and stopped.

"Wow, not the greatest punch I've ever tasted."

"Really?" Arnold filled a cup of his own and took a sip. "Wow, you're right. It's not great."

They tossed their glasses in the trashcan and walked over to where they saw Gerald and Phoebe talking with Ian and Kelly. "How are you liking Hillwood so far, Kelly?" Phoebe asked.

"I like it, it's a city but it has the kind of feel of a small town. You know, born and raised on the west coast, I've never liked the idea of living in the city. It just always seemed so... robotic." Kelly was leaning back against Ian, who was leaning back against the wall and had his hands clasped around Kelly's, hugging her from behind, with her placing her hands over his.

"You know, I've always wanted to see the Pacific." Helga threw in as she approached with Arnold.

"Oh, it's so pretty. Not like here. His family used to take me on vacation with them up to the Oregon coast. It's just so... peaceful. You can actually _hear _the waves."

They all chatted, asking both Ian and Kelly about their lives in California before moving, and the conversation got onto how Kelly ended up in Hillwood. "So, you just packed a suitcase and hopped on a plane?"

"Yep, my mom helped me pack, and she drove me to the airport real early in the morning. She's known Ian for years, and she knew how much I loved him, and how much he loved me. So, she put me on the plane and said 'Kelly, you don't belong here. You belong with him' then sent me off. Got off the plane, got a taxi here, and if it wasn't for that mini skirt over there, we probably would have done that whole slow motion run on the beach thing."

"Although, I did find her yelling at Lila to be very hot." He replied slyly.

"I did enjoy ripping her a new one, courtesy of Kelly Concord." Ian wrapped his arms around Kelly tighter, squeezing her into him, as she nuzzled herself back against him.

"You two are just too freaking cute." Helga tossed in as the four set of eyes looked upon the couple. Kelly looked over at Helga, and stuck her tongue out between her teeth. The music changed to a piano, everyone in the crowd knowing the song as Don't Stop Believing. Phoebe and Gerald ran out onto the dance floor, while Kelly had a bright smile on her face. "Oh my god! This is my favorite song ever! Come on, baby!" She grabbed onto Ian's writs and began to run towards the dance floor. She came to an abrupt stop, as her leg shot up, and her eyes bugged out with an 'omph'. Kelly looked back, and Ian was still glued to the wall, with a blank look on his face. "Ian! You said you'd dance me!"

He held up his finger. "Correction, I said I would _come _to the dance with you. I never said anything about dancing."

"Ian, I want to dance! And I am not dancing alone!" Kelly said as she tugged on his arm again, but to no avail.

"Kelly, I'm a musician. I'm the one who makes the music, not dances to it."

"Don't give me the 'musicians make the music' speech again!" Kelly sighed, let go of Ian's wrist, and crossed her arms. She squinted her hazel eyes at him and pointed her finger at him. "You're gonna make me do the face."

Ian's eyes widened into a look of shock. "You wouldn't dare."

Kelly clasped her hands in front of her, closed her eyes and bowed her head. She slowly walked up to her boyfriend until a mere few inches separated them. She looked up at him with a small smile, arched eye brows, and a puppy dog look. Arnold and Helga heard Ian whimper, bite his lower lip, and look away from her. Kelly placed her hands gently against his chest, and slid them down to his abdomen. "Please, baby?" Ian looked back to his girlfriend, and deflated upon a heavy sigh.

"Alright." Kelly's face lit up immediately as she clapped her hands together in excitement. Ian turned a warm smile to his girlfriend and took her hands in his. "You're lucky you're beautiful."

"Come on!" Kelly ran out on to the dance floor with Ian in tow just as Steve Perry was beginning to sing his intro. Helga and Arnold laughed at Ian and Kelly's antics.

"You want to dance, Helga?" Arnold asked as he extended a hand toward her. Helga looked over to him with a devious smile, grabbed onto his hand as they ran out onto the dance floor. Gerald and Phoebe were dancing next to Ian and Kelly, Ian looking a bit awkward, as Kelly had her arms wrapped around his neck and moved to the beat of the classic rock song. Arnold began to move to the beat, and Helga began to do the same. _Just focus on what is happening. _Arnold kept his lidded eyes locked with hers as he watched her move. The guitar solo came up, and Arnold watched as Kelly did an air guitar in front of her boyfriend, as Ian looked upon her with a warm smile. The chorus came up, and everybody who knew the lyrics, shouted them, along with Ian, Kelly, Helga, and Arnold. As the song ended, the tempo of the next song slowed down, as each couple was embracing each other for the song. Gerald wrapping himself around Phoebe, Ian pulling Kelly in by the waist, while some others made their way off the dance floor.

Helga looked awkwardly over to Arnold and looked rather nervous. "Well, my feet are killing me so..." She pointed off to the side and began to walk off.

As she went past, he caught her wrist, and brought her to a stop. She looked back up at him, and he nodded backwards. Helga's nerve went into overdrive as she felt him pull her in and place a hand on her hip, with his other wrapping around her's, while she placed a hand on his shoulder. They began to sway slowly to the music, and Helga was locked in a magnetic gaze with him. _Calm down, Helga, old girl. Calm down! Calm down! _She could feel her heart thump in her chest, along with her veins pulse with each hard beat. It wasn't until she felt his hands on the small of her back that she realized she had let go of his hand, and placed it on his other shoulder.

Arnold's expression changed from his usual content smile to a blank expression as they suddenly stopped swaying. The magnetic gaze they had been locked in began to take effect as Helga watched him inch closer. Helga's already pounding heart began to go erratic, as her mind screamed at her. "Helga..." She heard him whisper. She pushed up on the balls of her feet, as her eyes drifted shut. She felt him flex his fingers against her waist, as he pulled her flush against him. She placed her hands on the back of his neck just as she felt his slow deep breath fan off of her. It wasn't until she felt his nose brush against hers that her mind snapped back to reality, and made her realize what was about to happen. _I'm about to kiss Arnold Shortman! _

Sure she had dreamed about it since she was little, even actually done it once or twice, but, this time, it was him kissing her. Helga's heart soared at the thought that _he _was kissing _her. _She wasn't forcing him to kiss her, he was willingly and knowingly about to kiss her. "Oh Arnold..." She quietly whispered. He tightened his grip on her hips as she felt him move his lips a faction of an inch above hers. Suddenly, her mind went blank, as his lips were on hers in the softest kiss she has ever experienced. The sparks flying off of this kiss, along with the love that she felt toward him, shot through her. As their lips sat together, locked in their embrace, Helga was sure that if it wasn't for his tight grip, which had moved to the small of her back, pressing her into him, she would collapse into a puddle right there on the dance floor.

They broke the kiss and moved their lips against each others for another kiss, that started deeper than the last one. Helga could taste the awful tasting punch on his lips, but with how soft his lips felt, how they had slid against each other with such ease, as he gracefully locked her lips together in another kiss made her wrap her arms around his neck.

* * *

Lila watched in fury at the couple on the dance floor. "They look comfy." The girl next to her said.

"Come on, I've got a plan." Lila said, getting up from her seat and making her way out the door and down the hall.

* * *

The kiss broke, and Arnold leaned back, his eyes still closed, and his lips still looked like they were kissing her. She watched as he took a sharp breath in, and shot his eyes open. He looked back to her with a wondering look. "What just happened?" He asked.

"You just kissed me." Helga replied.

"Oh..." A light shown in his eyes right then as a bright smile appeared on his face. Helga bowed her head and averted her gaze, which was now set upon Ian and Kelly, with Kelly's head being buried in Ian's chest, with her arms wrapped around his waist, as she gave her a thumbs up and a wink. Helga smiled and averted her eyes back down to the floor. "Helga..." He said. She looked back up to him, and he had his half smile and lidded gaze looking down at her.

"Yes Arnold?"

"I hate this song." He said quietly.

She chuckled to herself. "Me too."

"You want to walk to the cafe, get some coffee?"

She smiled up at him and nodded. "I'd like that."

"I'm gonna go tell Gerald and I'll meet you outside." He brought his hands back up to her waist as she slid her own hands down his chest. He reluctantly walked away, and made his way through the crowd to where Gerald was still dancing with Phoebe. He placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention and whispered in his ear. "Helga and I are going to the cafe, don't wait up."

"Good job, bro." He replied as Arnold looked over to the door and spotted Helga slowly making her way through it. She was just past the door and into the hall when there was red paint being poured on her from above. "Oh no." He heard her let out a wail of surprise, followed by a howl of laughter coming from a few others from that direction. She spun around, drenched in red paint, and immediately found Arnold's worried eyes, just before she bolted from sight. "Helga, wait!" Arnold weaved through the stilled crowd and ran through the entrance.

Gerald, Phoebe, Ian and Kelly watched Arnold run after Helga, just before Lila came into sight, holding an empty paint can. "Oh, no she didn't." Kelly said. "That slut just worked my last nerve. Ian!"

"Hmm?"

"Phone!" He placed his phone in her hand as she began to dial. "Let's show mini skirt how we do things back home."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So here it is. Chapter 12. I'm going to extend in a few places, and also completely rework the dialog between Helga and Arnold. Please let me know what you think. **

**Disclaimer: Still not mine.**

* * *

"Helga! Helga, wait!" Arnold ran across the school parking lot after Helga, passing the few cars that were parked.

"Beat it, football head!" She spat while still keeping up her awkward run, as best as she could while wearing heels, but he was quickly catching up to her, since he was in dress shoes. Her voice thick with tears, and Arnold had to physically stop himself from going into a sprint and wrapping his arms around her. Instead, he sped up, running in front of her a placing his hands on her arms to halt her escape. "Let go of me!" She yelled as she struggled only for a second against his strong and commanding grip. Once she had stopped, she had her head bowed, and her face was out of view. Her hair had a thick layer of paint on it, covering her shoulders, and running down her arms. He saw the paint running down her back and disappearing into her dress. She finally looked up into his eyes, and Arnold again had to physically stop himself from reaching up and swiping away the tear running down her cheek. Her eyes were red and puffy, with strains of paint running down her face.

Looking into her eyes, and feeling her short and shallow breath making her shoulders jump, she looked so... helpless. "Helga..."

"I'm sorry I dragged you to this stupid dance in this stupid dress with these stupid shoes at this stupid school with these stupid people, so you can just... leave me alone and forget this night ever happened."

"I asked you, Helga. I wanted to come with you. It wasn't an accident. I had a great time tonight."

"You don't have to lie to me, Arnold. I'm a big girl, I can take it."

"When is the last time _I _lied to you, Helga?"

"You can cut the act, Arnold! Please! Why should I believe that the schools mother freaking Teresa would want to take 'the she beast'." She shook him off and turned around. "So please, just go and... dance with Lila, like they want you to."

"_Lila _can tie a cinder block to her ass and jump off a bridge!" He spat. "She's been chasing after me for three years and is too stupid to take a hint. She can't close her mouth let alone her legs, and I'm sick of it!" He was letting the anger get the better of him, and he knew it, knew he was just speaking out of anger, but he was tired of Lila.

"Oh yeah? Then why'd you ask me to this stupid thing?" Helga asked angrily.

"I asked you because I like you, Helga." She scoffed, rolled her eyes, and turned back around. "Helga, what can I say that will make you believe me?"

"The truth!" She yelled, turning back around to glare at him.

"You want the truth!?" He yelled back.

"Would be a nice change of pace!"

"The truth is... the truth is you scare the hell out of me." She scoffed again and crossed her arms. "Because every time I look at you, I never know what to do with myself. Every time I hear you speak I have to fight not to trip over my own tongue." She looked back up at him with a blank expression. "Every time I see you smile I never know whether to turn and run or just..." He paused for a moment before he placed his hands back on her arms, and yanked her to him, having her lips crash against his. Arnold felt the spark rush through him, as he poured every pent up feeling he's felt toward her for the past few years into this kiss. Her hands that had shot out in front of her on instinct, he now felt being laid on his chest. He moved his hands to snake around her waist and pull her toward him as he deepened the kiss. Her hands scrunched his shirt together against his firm chest as she pulled him down further.

He could feel the cold slipperiness of the paint on his hands and his cheeks as they kissed. He had kissed girls before, even made out in secluded parts of school after hours a few times, but if anything were to compare to what was happening now, he hadn't experienced it. Her shapely body molded against his, he found out when she snaked her arms around his neck, pressing one hand against his shoulder, with the other on the back of his head. The only sounds registering in his brain were those of their lips, sliding off of each other, only to have them land softly against the others. He crossed his arm across her back, and grappled onto her slim shoulder, hugging her more fully against him, causing her to move her hand from the back of his head to slide over his cheek.

With one last kiss, he held her lips in his for a moment, and released them with a soft pluck. They remained separated by a mere inch, his hands found their place back on her hips, he pressed their foreheads together, and kept his eyes closed, reveling in the serenity her presence was gifting him at the moment. Their pants and heavy breathing was the only thing shared in the space that was between them.

Helga slid her hands down, running both her hands down his cheeks, down his neck, and down to his chest where they remained resting on opposite sides of his heart. Fearing anything above a whisper would break the spell, he kept his voice a soft squeak of a mouse. "You believe me yet?"

She pressed against him with the hands that were still latched onto his chest, and bowed her head. "I don't..." She shook her head from side to side, and Arnold's fear was getting the better of him with her use of the negative. "I don't deserve this."

"What are you talking about?" He kept his hands on her, fighting the urge to pull her in and hold her as she chastised herself.

"You deserve more than... more than I can give you, more than me." Helga said sadly.

He cupped her chin with his finger and thumb and brought her up to look him in the eye. "Isn't that my choice to make?" She closed her eyes as a stray tear escaped down her cheek, going past the smudged and smeared paint, and this time, he gave in. Cupping her cheek fully with his hand, he slowly brushed his thumb across her cheek bone, wiping the single tear, along with some of the paint off of her. "You've known me for a long time, Helga. So you should know by now that I don't care what they think. Let them think what they want, because in the end, it doesn't mean a damn thing. What does matter is what I think. And I think... you're a pretty amazing person." She smiled sadly and moved against the hand that was still resting on her cheek, slightly nuzzling herself into his palm. "And while we all have our own insecurities, our own doubts, and our own burdens, it takes a pretty amazing person to overcome it all, and to look the world dead in the eye and say give me your best shot."

Helga chuckled lightly, cutting through her seemingly broken exterior. "Damn straight." She muttered.

"There she is." She looked up at him with a soft smile. He smiled warmly down at her and took her hand in his, entwining her slender fingers with his, and nodded of to his side. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

They walked through the chilly night air, down the some what deserted streets, hands still entwined together, not saying a word. He had placed his coat around her shoulders, not caring that the paint was staining the lining, he would explain it to his parents later. "Arnold?" Helga beckoned him.

"Yes, Helga?"

"Thank you... for tonight. Despite..." She motioned to her hair, waving her finger in a circle around her head. "this, I had a nice time."

Arnold came to a stop just arriving at her house. "Yeah, me too." They walked up her steps, while Helga fished under the door mat for the spare key.

"Oh, and by the way, if you happen to turn on the news in the morning and see my face, and a caption reading 'local high school girl murders another', just remember you never saw me." She said with a slight devilish grin, as she unlocked her door and placed the spare key back under the mat.

"Don't worry about Lila. Besides," He walked up, and pinched a lock of hair in his fingers, and examined the paint on his fingers. "this looks like latex based paint to me. Should come out pretty easily with a hot shower. And I'm sure you can get that dress dry cleaned."

"So I can't kill Lila?" She asked, with an inflection that told him she knew the answer.

"It would be best if you didn't. I don't know about you, but I'd prefer our next kiss to not be shared through plate glass."

"If you say so." She replied, brushing the strand of hair he just had between his fingers behind her ear. She took his coat off of her shoulders, and handed back to him. "Sorry about the stain."

"Don't worry about it. It needed a little color anyway."

She laughed. "So I'll uh, see you Monday?"

"See you Monday." He said after a moment of pause. He watched as she crossed into the thresh hold of her home, and slowly shut the door. He stood for a minute, watching her heavily blurred figure walk up the stairs behind the textured glass of her front door. He sighed to himself, flung his sports coat over his shoulder, walked down her stoop and started to head home.

* * *

"Hey Helga, it's Ian. Something came up and I can't pick you up for school tomorrow morning. Sorry about the short notice, it was kind of sudden. Talk to you later."

Helga groaned as she listened to his voice mail, just coming out of her third shower of the weekend. She was sure she would get yelled at once Bob looked at the water bill. She set her alarm for fifteen minutes earlier than normal to give herself enough time to catch the bus to school, and went to bed.

She lay in bed forty five minutes later, still dreading going back to school. Since Arnold said that she couldn't kill Lila, she was sure all the glances, the snickers, the pointed fingers would wear her down quickly. She could only steel herself so much. She turned on her side, grabbed a pillow and hugged it against her chest.

_'It takes a pretty amazing person to overcome it all, and to look the world dead in the eye and say give me your best shot.' _

His strong words of encouragement rang in her head in that moment, as if he was right there whispering them in her ear. She smiled brightly at the memory of him cradling her tear and paint stained cheek in his hand as he spoke to her, just after he had kissed her with knee wobbling passion, and just before they had walked home, hands being held together in the most intimate of ways. True, it would take all her self control not to throttle Lila in the morning, and even more so not to explode at anyone who looked at her wrong, but she would try her best.

* * *

The morning came too quickly for Helga. She didn't have the luxury of dreaming through the night, but she could count herself lucky, knowing that it probably would have been a nightmare, if not a memory of the more horrid parts of yesterday's evening. She got up, took one last long hot shower, made a mental note to get more body wash, shampoo and conditioner, got dressed in a pair of jeans, pink t-shirt, and her black denim jacket, and put her hair back in a pony tail.

Riding the bus was no fun experience. She had quickly grown accustom to Ian's SUV, along with his rebellious taste in music. Even more so to the recent addition of his girlfriend Kelly to his carpool. Kelly had quickly become one of Helga's good friends. Kelly would always hug her at first site, and she always had a sweet and fun spirit about her, but could turn into a devious and devilish, and a very bad ass spirit in no time. After all, with a golden heart, comes a rebel fist.

Helga walked through the front doors of Hillwood High, and it had already begun, the stifled laughter, the giggles, the pointed fingers, the side glances. Helga simply sighed heavily as she came to a stop at her locker and opened it.

"Get all the paint out, Helga?" Lila asked devilishly as she passed behind her. The girls walking with her laughed, and Helga had a brief mental image of an elephant smashing her head. The laughing continued and Lila came to a stop at her locker.

***POP* **

The sound reverberated down the hall with great intensity, making Helga, and countless others jump, as a silence cut through the student body, with the exception of one red haired girl, now letting loose a blood curdling scream. Helga looked over, and the heavy weight of embarrassment evaporated at the sight of the girl. With her hands held out in front of her, completely covered in lime green paint, was Lila, standing in front of her locker. A howl of laughter erupted through the hall as Lila went running through the front doors. Helga laughed a sigh of sweet justice, feeling a sense of happiness that the wicked had gotten their just desserts in a world where the rarely did.

"I call it..." Helga turned around to see Kelly leaning against the locker next to hers, finger on her chin, squinting up at the lights. "Garden Ho Green." She said as she fanned her hands apart.

"Kelly? Wha... you?" Helga asked as she pointed toward the girl now looking very happy with herself. She bounced on the souls of her boots and raised a pair of affirming eye brows.

"But keep it down. Don't want the higher up's getting wind of it." Helga smiled brightly and enveloped the girl in a tight hug, which was being returned.

"Kel, you are the best!" Helga said in the girls ear, not willing to let the girl go. With a friendly pat on the back, they broke their hug, to find Ian standing behind Kelly, also looking quite proud of himself. Kelly leaned back against him and crossed her arms.

"Told you so." She said while looking up at her boyfriend.

He wrapped an arm around her waist from behind and dug his phone out of his pocket. "I usually don't care about fashion but, I don't think green is her color." He held up his phone to Helga for her to see a picture of Lila, covered in green paint, her blue blouse now a lime green, with her pale skin now painted the same color, her face contouring in disgust, and her arms being held out in surrender.

"No one messes with the friends of Kelly Concord." Kelly said, seriousness edging her voice. Ian cleared his throat from behind her, and Kelly looked up briefly. "And company."

Helga laughed, her joy rushing through her system, destroying any negative feeling. Kelly held out her arms to Helga, and she was enveloped in yet another tight hug. Helga looked to the entrance she saw Lila bolt out of, and saw Arnold walk through, hands buried in his pockets, and looking behind him with a curious but bright smile on his face. She saw him laugh as he went to his locker.

"Hey Kel, are you busy after school?"

"Hmm, well, I got pillage the town at four, burn the crops at five, lay waste to the live-stock at six, but I think I can squeeze you in. What's up?" She said with a smirk.

"There's just something I want to ask you. Cafe after school?"

"Sure thing!"

* * *

Arnold walked into the lunch room, went through the line and went to sit at his regular table with Ian and Kelly. Today had been eventful to say the least. To see Lila get 'what was coming to her', was a great joy. He still hadn't found out who was responsible for the paint bomb in her locker, but who ever it was, he owed them a thank you. He sat down at his table, and looked across to find Ian sitting alone, with a content smile on his face. "Where's Kelly?"

"She's in the library, said she needed to look something up before coming to lunch."

"Oh. So, did you hear what happened to Lila?" Arnold asked with an uplifting inflection.

"No, what?" Ian asked.

"Some one planted a paint bomb in her locker. Got blasted with green paint."

"Really? Wow, I'd say whom ever is responsible is pretty good." He said sort of slyly.

"You uh... have any idea who did it?" Ian remained silent, but couldn't help the small smirk that appeared on his face. "Don't tell me..." Ian's smirk broke into a grin and Arnold's suspicions were confirmed. He smiled and hi-fived him. "Man, that was awesome!" Ian put a finger over his lips and shushed.

"Don't want the office drones catching on to who did it." He replied in a hushed tone.

"How'd you do it?" Arnold asked in an equally hushed tone.

"Just know that no one messes with my friends and gets to laugh about it."

Arnold laughed, and his mind decided to snap him back to the thoughts that have been pestering him all weekend. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"When you and Kelly got together, what was it like?"

Ian paused as his face held a displease expression. "Awkward."

Arnold's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Kelly and I had been friends for about three years before we were dating. I mean, we were best friends. We talked all the time, we hung out a lot, we talked on the phone almost every night, but when we got together it was just... weird. I mean, when you're friends, you kind of... hold your tongue. You have all these thoughts about this girl, but there's that barrier, that thresh hold that you can't cross as long as your... 'just friends'. But once you get past it, it's awkward trying to get past that barrier, to where you don't have to hold you're tongue any more, to where all the things you had been thinking all those years can finally come out into the open. It took a while before we weren't walking on egg shells around each other. But once we did, once we just laid it all out there, to where we were boy friend and girl friend, and not just friends who just happen to be dating, then it's great."

Just then, Kelly decided to join them, plopping down in the seat next to Ian, and leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. "See?"

* * *

"So, what's up, Hell cat?" Kelly asked, sitting down in the place that Helga had deemed 'their spot' to herself.

Helga looked down at the table and gathered her thoughts for a minute. "How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That Ian was the one? How did you know?" Kelly smiled a warm smile and leaned forward on her forearms, rubbing a hand against the sleeve of his leather jacket.

"I can tell you exactly when I knew he was the one. We had been dating about a year and a half. And one night, my step dad came home wasted, and started yelling at me for something I didn't do. He called me a waste of breath, whore, good for nothing, all of the alcoholic cliche insults. But, someone yells something loud enough, your bound take it to heart eventually. My mom didn't stand up to him, because he was her sugar daddy. So, he was yelling at me, and I was yelling right back. He said I was better off dead, and a part of me believed him. So I ran. It was pouring down rain, it was late, I was bawling my eyes out, and I ran to the one place I could think of. Ian's. I knocked on his window, and he took me in. Didn't ask me to explain what had happened, he just wrapped his arms around me, and hugged me until I was calmed down. He grabbed a towel, an old pair of sweats and a hoodie, and had me change. He wrapped me up in a blanket, and we sat in the corner of his bed. He grabbed his guitar, and started to play me a song with me still wrapped in his arms. He played A Better Place, A Better Time. You know, _and when you wake up, everything is going to be fine. I guarantee that you'll wake in a better place, and a better time."_ She sang, and had to pause for a moment. "I was just starting to fall asleep when he kissed my hair, and said I love you. That's when I knew. I came to him hysterical, bawling my eyes out, and he just... loved me. Him knowing that I was happy and safe was the most important thing to him, and he was willing to do anything to make that happen."

Helga looked back down at the table, her mind conjuring up thoughts of the night Arnold had shared a few days before.

"Don't worry, Helga. You just need to give him a chance." Kelly stood up and began walking out the door, having one finger over her lips and looking down at the ground with a warm smile as she walked. Helga watched as she spotted Ian waiting for her. Kelly walked up to him, placed her hands on the sides of his face and kissed him passionately. Her mind flashed back to the kiss that her and Arnold shared in the parking lot, how much passion and energy she felt from him. She watched as Ian cupped Kelly's jaw and kissed her lovingly. _I need to see Arnold. _She walked out the door and turned to walk down the street towards Arnold's.

"Nothing, I just love you." Kelly said. "Isn't that enough?" She wrapped her arms around his chest and hugged him tightly. She looked over to Helga, who was watching from a far and mouthed a phrase it took Helga a minute to analyze.

'Go get him.'

* * *

**A/N: So as you saw, I added a scene, and extended and totally rewrote the beginning scene. I hope you guys like it. let me know by _REVIEWING! _**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Yes, yes, I am back to this story. For those of you who haven't been following my other story, All the difference in the world, it is now complete, and I would urge you to go and read it! Cuz I've been told it's quite amazing x) anyway, I am back to working on this story. This chapter isn't as long as I originally planned, but I will keep working on the next few chapters. Thanks for enduring this long break I took from this story though!**

* * *

Arnold bent down and grasped onto the block of concrete, and lifted it up into his wheel barrel. He had been working about two hours, after he had gotten out of school, and only had three hours to go, and today, it was unusually hot, blazing at 85 degrees, with the humidity reaching into the sixties. He had long ditched his usual work shirt, and was now wearing just a thin, white tank top, the edges darkened with sweat. Taking his hard hat off, he wiped his brow clean of sweat and placed his hard hat back on his head, along with his safety glasses, and went back to work.

Lifting another block of concrete, this one weighing no less than ninety pounds, he lifted it with a grunt, but with ease non the less, and into the wheel barrel, and started to wheel it across the yard.

His job was menial enough to where he could zone out, and let his mind wander. His mind kept going back to the kiss he shared with Helga. He knew they should actually talk about things, about where they were, _what _they were, but it was weird. He just kissed her out of the blue, right after he had confessed to her only part of his feelings for her. Weirder yet, she had kissed him back, _really _kissed him back. He could still remember how he lost all coherent thought as she scrunched her hands together in the silk fabric of his shirt and pulled him down to her.

Wheeling his empty barrel back to the pile, he got an odd feeling, that he was being watched. He set his wheel barrel down next to the pile of concrete blocks, and trying his best to be unnoticeable, he shot a glance over toward the fence. Sure enough, there she was. Anger getting the best of him once again, he picked up his pace, and angrily tossed the chunks of concrete into the barrel with a loud clank, feeling her eyes rack him from her position. He let out an angry sigh and picked up his wheel barrel and hauled it back over to where they could be picked up the the tractor.

He started back to his pile and looked over to her, enough to where she now knew that he knew she was there. He set his wheel barrel down next to his pile and peeled his work gloves off. "Mr. Potts! I'm on break!" He shouted over to the crane.

"Alright! Start smashin' those blocks over by the foundation when you're done!" He yelled back. Arnold simply shot up a thumps up as he walked over to where she stood. He took off his hard hat, placed his glasses on top of his head, and flung open the gate to the chain link fence that separated them. He put on an unwelcoming, yet blank expression and walked over to her, trying his hardest to stifle the laughter upon looking at her, with traces of green paint still littering her hair line, and embedded in her fingernails. "What do you want?" He demanded in a low voice.

"I wanted to apologize." She squeaked.

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to. And if you're here looking for me to feel sorry for you, you've come to the wrong place for pity, Lila."

"I know, Arnold. I know. I truly am sorry for what I did to Helga, I am."

"Then why don't you tell her that, instead of me? I'm not the one who needs to hear it."

"Arnold, I..."

"Just, stop it." He interrupted her. "I don't need to hear this. What you did to Helga was atrocious, and she never did anything to you to deserve that kind of treatment. So don't come here and put on a fake smile just to try and get back into my good graces." He took a pause and saw the smile fade from her face, to a look of shame. "You have to live with the decisions you make, Lila. But don't blame some one else when the seeds you sow don't bare the fruit you want. You made your decision three years ago when you cut me out. So don't blame Helga when I don't want back in." He turned around and went through the chain link gate again and swung it shut behind him.

He hated that he just wasted half his break talking to Lila, but he hoped it would be the last time he ever would.

* * *

Helga walked with a fast pace towards Arnold's with a firm mind set. _Okay, you are going to tell him, you are going to tell him. This is it. You've waited for this moment a long time. No backing down now. _She saw his house, and, feeling very confident, she walked up the stoop, and knocked on the door. She heard the door knob turn, and the door opened to reveal Stella. "Hello Helga." She said happily.

"Hi, Mrs. Shortman. Is Arnold around? I needed to talk to him about our biology project."

"Actually, he's at work until 8:30. But if you want to, I can take a message for him, let him know you dropped by."

_Think quickly! You know if you sleep on it, you'll chicken out. _"Uhm, do you know where I can find him? It's kind of important." _Doesn't fit in with your story, chumforbrains, but hopefully she buys it. _

"Well, he's working at that old parking garage they just tore down about ten blocks up. If you're lucky, you might catch him on break." Stella said with a smile.

"Okay, thanks Mrs. Shortman." Helga turned around to walk back down his stoop.

"Helga," Stella said from the arch way of his front door. "Call me Stella. Mrs Shortman makes me feel old." She said with a smirk.

Helga chuckled. "Thanks... Stella." Arnold's mother smiled warmly at the girl and waved as she shut the door. Looking at her phone for the time, it was a little past five. Kelly had taken longer than usual to get to the cafe after school today, and the trek to Arnold's had taken her another fifteen minutes. She began to walk in the direction Stella had pointed her, still confident. After walking a block, the heat was getting to her. She decided to take off her denim jacket, and place it where it was hanging on the strap of her backpack. She walked a further down the street when she decided to take the time to chose her words.

_Arnold, my golden haired love god, I... _"No, no, no..."

_Hey, football head! Guess what! I'm head over heels in love with you! _"No, that's even worse!"

_Arnold, I know I can be bitchy, and mean, and demanding, and harsh, and tough to deal with, and... _"Right, like I want to draw that much attention to my flaws."

_Arnold, I haven't always been upfront with my feelings, but just bear with me as I try and spill my guts and... _"Oh, forget it! I'll just wing it!"

She kept up her walk, now a little peeved at herself for not being able to find just the right words to express herself when it really counted. It was now five thirty, and Helga was just rounding the last corner to where Stella had pointed her, when she saw Lila walking down the street. Her fists tightened into balls, or rather maces, when she saw her. But, she didn't want to deal with her right now. Lila got what she deserved, and Helga was going to leave it at that.

Just when she thought she was home free, passing Lila with out incidence, with Lila keeping her eyes down onto her cellphone, Helga heard her small voice carry over to her ears. "Helga?"

She stopped, but didn't turn around. She simply took a deep breath to try and relax herself, and continued down the side walk. "Helga, wait!"

"What the hell do you want?!" Helga spat, spinning around to see Lila nervously wringing her hands together, not willing to meet Helga's harsh stare.

"I uh... I just wanted to... uhm..." Lila stuttered.

Helga scoffed and turned around. "Ugh, I don't have time for this..."

"I'm sorry!" Lila said in a firm voice, shouting back at Helga before she got out of ear shot.

Helga let out a bark of laughter and turned back around, crossing her arms imposingly. "Right! Last time I checked, hell hadn't frozen over. Come back when you get yourself a soul." She said darkly, and turned back around to continue down the sidewalk. As she crossed the cross walk, Helga had to fight from seething. _Stupid Lila putting me in a bad mood! I don't know what she's trying to pull, but she's got another thing coming if she thinks that I'm stupid enough to fall for her little act like everyone else. _

Helga stopped herself and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. _You're going to see Arnold to tell him that you love him, right? Do you really want to do that while wanting to rip someone's head off? _Helga looked around to find our exactly where she was in her pursuit and saw that she was just around the corner from the old parking garage they had torn down. Helga quickly crossed the street and made her way down to where the chain link fence began, with signs littering the fence, reading _'Hard hats and safety glasses required beyond this point.'_

She slowed her pace, and began scanning the many faces bustling about the work sight, looking for Arnold. As she took notice, she saw that most of the guys looked like they were packing of their gear, and getting ready to head out. "Head home, boys! We ain't getting another truck in here until morning, and we can't get rid of this rubble until we do!" She heard someone yell out across the yard. Helga dug out her phone and saw that it was only five thirty.

_Didn't Arnold's mom say that he wasn't getting off till eight thirty? _As the sight started to clear out, she spotted a group of three guys, standing around a pile of rocks, two of them holding large sledge hammers. One of them lifted the hammer high above their heads, then swung it down, shattering the rock in front of them. The one standing across from him waved him off and lifted his hammer and brought it down to the significantly larger rock, shattering it with ease. "Barbarians..." She muttered. She watched as the rest of the workers vacated the yard, leaving two of the three men that were there before.

One of the two started to walk towards the gate, just before he stopped by a near by bench, and flung a grey t-shirt over his shoulder, and took off his hard hat, revealing a mess of blonde hair, stained and greasy with sweat. As Helga realized that it was Arnold, and took in full view of him, Helga just about fell to the ground.

Since it was late September, the sun was just starting to set, painting the sky a yellowish orange hue. And with the color of the sky reflecting off of his glistening skin, his shapely arms, and white tank top that clung to his abdomen, showing the outlines of his abs, it looked as if he had just stepped off the hills of Olympus. Helga watched as he ran a hand through his hair and shook it out, making her grow a little more flustered then she already was.

On the other side of the fence, Arnold was a little more than relieved to hear that they wouldn't be able to get another dump truck in the yard until morning. He felt even better when he had just beaten Gary in rock breaking competition, which Gary had sworn up and down that he would win. But after he had won, Gary huffed off and headed home. He was even happier to hear that he didn't have to work again until Friday.

Arnold flung his discarded shirt over his shoulder for the time being, and lifted his hard hat off his head, running a hand through his sweaty and stuck together hat hair. He shook it lose and headed for the gate. He tossed the gate open, and shut it behind him. Setting his hard hat on the ground, he lifted his shirt off his shoulder, and pulled it over his head. Once his eyes were refocused to his surroundings, they fell upon a very familiar blonde girl, staring at him with wide eyes. "Hey Helga." He greeted her in a chipper tone.

He saw her shake her head slightly, and smiled over at him. "Hey there, football head!"

"What are you doing here?" He asked in a friendly tone, as she started walking towards him.

"I uh... just thought that I'd um... walk you home. That okay with you?"

"Yeah, I'd like that." He picked his hard hat up off the ground, watching her turn around and make her way back down the street. He quickly caught up to her and stopped by her side, close enough to where their hands were brushing together. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Let's just say I have my sources." He looked over to her, giving her a slightly pointed look. "Alright, so your mom told me, so what?" She shrugged in defense of herself.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry if I smell, I've been sweating for the past two hours. And I still don't know if I can get Lila's stench off me."

"Lila?" Helga asked incredulously.

"Yeah," He sighed, "she came by during my break trying to apologize to me. I swear, I've had it with her."

"Hmm..." She hummed inquisitively.

Arnold looked over to her furrowing brow. "What?"

"On my way over here, I ran into her, and she actually apologized. I thought she was messing with me."

"I wouldn't be surprised if she was. Ian and Kelly really did a number on her." He laughed.

Helga laughed brightly at the memory of Lila covered in lime green paint, looking like a blob of slime with two blinking eyes. "Yeah, it's not very that the wicked get their just desserts."

They were half way back to Arnold's house when Helga was breaking the somewhat comfortable silence with a small sounding voice. "So, uh... I've been wondering..." She paused, collecting her thoughts.

"Wondering... what, exactly?"

"What are we?" She blurted out.

"You mean... like, you and me, as in... us?"

"Yeah. I mean, we never really established that after homecoming or anything, so... it leaves one with questions that beg answers."

"So... are you saying you want to? Make it official, you and me, as a couple?"

She looked over to him with gleaming eyes and halted them with a soft hand in his forearm. "I'm willing to try if you are..."

Arnold reached down and took both her hands in his. "So, does this mean... we're officially dating?"

"On one condition..."

"What's that?"

"I get to be the girlfriend..." She said with a warm smile.

"So long as I get to be the boyfriend." He replied, smiling back at her.

"You got yourself a deal," She stepped forward into him. He took one last breath and leaned down to capture her lips in a soft kiss. She let go of his hand and reached up to cup his jaw. He placed his free hand low on her hip. Their lips slid together softly, both of them reveling in the blissful state they were consumed in. Arnold released her with a soft plunk, and leaned back. His eyes drifted open to see her still leaning forward, lips puckered out slightly, as if still kissing him, and eyes looking rather dreamy, however closed. He chuckled to himself as her eye lids fluttered open.

"Well..." She began. "looks like we're here."

"Huh?" He asked, genuinely confused. She gave him a deadpan expression and nodded off to her side. Arnold looked over and found himself standing at the bottom of his stoop. "Oh, right." He chuckled to himself, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Lucky you..." She said, raising a confident brow, and matching it was a grin.

"Indeed," He replied with a half lidded gaze. He stepped on onto the first step, and saw her turn to continue down the street. He caught her wrist before she was out of reach, and as soon as she looked back, he leaned back down and kissed her once more, earning himself a surprised moan from the back of her throat. He leaned back and smiled, "Couldn't help it."

"Just... give me a little warning next time?" She asked, trying her best to conceal her rising blush.

"What would be the fun in that?" He asked slyly. She rolled her eyes and turned back around to continue down the street. He smiled and walked up his stoop and through the door.

"Well, well, well..." A deep familiar voice greeted him. He stopped as his father stopped out of the living room, a grin plastered on his face as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Quite a display you two put on out there."

He sighed and set his hard hat down. "A gentleman never kisses and tells, Dad."

"You're only seventeen, son, since when did you have to worry about being a gentleman?" His father asked as Arnold walked past him.

"Coming from the man who, after twenty years of marriage, still opens car doors for his wife?" He shot back, starting up the stairs. "It's in the genes, Dad." He said with a cocky shrug of his shoulders.

He heard his father chuckle behind him as he continued up the stairs and into his room. He dug around in his closet for a pair of shorts and a new t-shirt, and was just about to head to the bathroom, when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He dug it out and saw he had a message from Helga.

_'Miss me yet? ;)'_

He laughed at her message and replied. '_More than I'm comfortable admitting.' _

Her reply came almost instantly. _'Well, you can take solace in the fact that you will see me tomorrow.' _

_'Yeah, I guess that will have to do for now.' _

_'Don't worry, football head, if it's any consolation, I miss you too.' _

He was surprised at her reply, _'Oh, you do?' _

_'More than I'm comfortable admitting.'_

* * *

**A/N: I know, weird ending. But, I couldn't think of a better one at the moment. But let me know what you think by REVIEWING! And again, thank you all for reading and staying tuned. as for those of you who have read my other story, thanks for that too! It's nice to know that I have at least some fans out there!  
**


	14. Chapter 14

Arnold stepped out of Gerald's car, and grabbed his backpack from the back seat. He stopped and scanned over the tops of the idle cars, looking for the red SUV that Ian drove. He stepped out into the isle of the parking lot, and looked down the two rows of cars. Not spotting them, he sighed despite himself and decided to catch up with her in homeroom.

He turned around to head into school, only to almost run into the girl he had been searching for, standing just a few inches behind him. "Hey!" She shouted, just as he turned around, startling him, forcing him to stumble back in surprise. She laughed at his reaction.

"Hey Helga," Arnold replied, standing straight up again. "Was that really necessary?"

"No, but it was funny." She answered with a smirk. He chuckled and stepped closer to her, leaning down to kiss her chastely on the lips, greeting her in a romantic way for the day, and for the first time in their new found 'official' relationship. He pulled back, and reached over to grab onto her hand, entwining their fingers together. Helga smiled brightly over at him and they started for the entrance.

They were up the steps, just behind Ian and Kelly, Ian's arm hung lazily over her shoulders, while hers were hugging waist from behind. Ian stepped forward and opened the door, holding it for Kelly as she floated past him and inside, stopping just inside to wait for him. Ian turned his gaze over to the couple walking behind then and he waved, holding the door open for them. "What's up, guys?" He asked casually.

"What's up, Ian?" He asked back, walking past him. He turned around as Helga started to converse with Kelly. As Ian stepped into the conversation ensuing between his girlfriend and Arnold's, Arnold made himself scarce for a moment to look down the hall, at everyone who was bustling about, pulling books out of their lockers, shoving other ones into it, and took a deep breath.

He didn't care what they thought, it didn't bother him. But it would bother him if it bothered Helga. Sure, they wouldn't be as free with their affection as Ian and Kelly were, but it wasn't the making out in the janitor's closet type of moments he was looking forward to. It was the little things, holding hands as they walked to class, sharing a quick kiss before they parted ways in the hall, exchanging alluring glances when they were sitting in class together, it was those types of things he was looking forward to. And yes, a heated make out session in the back of school didn't sound like a bad idea at all, but it's not like they would be doing that in front of the whole school.

They _could _hold hands down the hall, but, as much as Arnold hated it, he was accepted among the 'popular' kids, and Helga, on the other hand, wasn't. And Arnold knew enough about the clicks in school that he knew either one of them or both of them would get hounded by people who deemed it unacceptable for some one like Arnold to date someone like Helga. In truth, he didn't give a damn about what people thought, and Helga always said she didn't, but she always managed to stay under the radar. But this relationship would bring her into the spot light, and put the self appointed judges of the school's cross hairs on her back.

But, he swore to himself that he wouldn't let them determine how he was to act around her. That was his choice. He would give her those chaste kisses as they parted ways in the hall way if she was willing to receive them. He would hold her hand until they absolutely needed to separate, so long as she was willing to let him.

Kelly stepped into Ian again and they moved down the hall way to their lockers, leaving Arnold and Helga alone at the entrance. She looked over at him and smiled, and stepped over to him, as people filed in through the doors around them. He lifted his hand up to her, silently asking if she wanted to hold his hand as they went down the hall. She looked down at his up-facing palm, then looked back at him with a shy smile.

She placed her hand on top of his, and he closed his fingers around hers, and started down the hall. With one hand shoved casually in his pocket, the other occupied by her gentle grip, he cast a glance over to her, to find her twirling a strand of hair that had fallen out of her pony tail around her finger. Feeling cocky at that moment, he bumped her side playfully, and she looked over at him with a dreamy look, and smiled bashfully.

They walked over to her locker and stopped, as she opened it to get her first set of books for the day. He leaned casually against the locker beside hers, and buried his hands in his pockets, waiting for her. He looked away from her, and surveyed the people around him. No one really seemed to notice the new change in their status, either that or they didn't care. Inwardly, he felt a wave of relief wash over him.

Helga shut her locker, and turned to face him. "You coming, or what?" She asked, nodding backwards toward their homeroom.

"I'll be there in a minute, I just have to stop by my locker real quick." He said as she turned around and headed into the classroom.

As Helga walked in, feeling slightly lovesick, she sat down at her desk next to Ian, who was scribbling away in his notebook. "Helga..." A voice whispered from somewhere in the somewhat empty class room. Helga looked up from her desk and surveyed the room, seeing the expectant look she was getting from Rhonda. Helga raised a questioning eye brow in reply, and Rhonda simply waved her over to her desk.

Helga groaned and stood up, making her way to the desk behind Rhonda's. "What do you want, princess?"

Rhonda turned around in her desk and folded her arms over the back of her chair. "I just wanted to let you know that that little stunt Lila pulled at Homecoming was not condoned by me."

"And I should care why?"

"Listen, Helga, I know you and I have not always been the best of friends,"

"We've never been friends, Rhonda." Helga pointed out.

"Never the less," Rhonda raised a hand to halt her, and continued to explain. "What Lila did was very distasteful. And I did see how comfortable you and Arnold were during the dance, and honestly, Lila's little obsession with him was starting to get on my nerves. And while I was skeptical about the idea of you and him at first, you two looked pretty cute together. So, in the spirit of that, I wanted to declare a truce."

Helga narrowed her vision and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "What are you playing at, Rhonda?"

"Nothing!" She defended herself. "Honestly, Helga, you need to chill out." Rhonda shook her head.

"Hey Rhonda..." Rhonda looked back up to her. "I ran into Lila yesterday afternoon, and she did something I never would have expected, she apologized. You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you?"

Rhonda scoffed, and rolled her eyes. "To be honest, Lila has been following me around like a puppy dog ever since freshman year, and I just sort of tolerated her. But when she started to chase after Arnold when he shot her down the first time, she started to get annoying. So, let's just say that her little stunt at homecoming was the straw that broke the camels back. And besides, I got paint all over my new shoes."

Helga was going to throw back a retort, but she was still shocked at Rhonda's civility. "Uhm... Thanks, then... I guess."

Rhonda shrugged, "Don't mention it." She turned back around just as the class was starting become full. Helga stood up and made her way back to her seat. While Rhonda was still the drama queen that she always was, the fact that she was being civil with her was a bit of a shocker, and apparently it had been to Ian to, who looked over to Helga with quizzical look. She shrugged, throwing it off for the time being, just as Arnold walked into class, catching her eye and smiling as he moved down the row of desks to find his.

Class dragged on, and as Helga moved out into the hall, she saw Arnold waiting patiently for her against the wall opposite the classroom door. As she stepped out into the hall, he shoved off the wall and came up to her. "You know, if the day wasn't long before, it is now."

"Why is that?" Helga asked taking a step into him, gently placing her hands on his chest, while his hung low on her hips.

"Because we won't see each other till sixth period." He replied sadly.

She giggled and smiled up at him warmly. "Well, I think you'll survive."

"We'll find out, but I'm still skeptical. I'll see you later."

"Later," He leaned down and captured her lips quickly before stepping away with a smirk, and making his way down the hall. She watched him saunter his way down the hall, and turn a corner, silently begging for someone to pinch her, just to make sure.

"I love a good day dream as much as the next guy, but you're kind of blocking traffic." Ian said from her side. Helga turned around with a sanguine look and started down the hall.

* * *

Lunch was just ending as Arnold stood up, and disposed of his tray. He quickly went back to his seat where Ian and Kelly were seated in their regular seats, their sides crammed together as always. Soon after, the bell rang, and he was anxious to get to sixth period to see his girlfriend again. Just as he was coming up on the door to Biology, he saw her coming out of the adjacent hall way with a warm smile. He stopped to greet her, and she walked up to him, placed her hands on his shoulders and pulled herself up to him.

They let their lips sit together for a bit before she pulled away. "Hey," She said simply.

"Hey," He parroted.

Helga grinned and made her way around him, nudging his side as she went. He followed her in and sat down at their table in the back. Class went on, and they were assigned a few questions out of their texts books. Arnold and Helga sat quietly, letting her fidget with his fingers underneath the table, which he found oddly calming. Arnold heard Helga's cell phone vibrate in her pocket, and after checking that the teacher wasn't paying attention she dug it out and checked it. After she read the text message with a furrowed brow, she replaced her phone and looked back at him looking she was at a loss for words. "What is it?" He asked quietly.

"I just got a text message from Lila. She wants to meet me after school at the cafe."

"Why?"

"I don't know, she didn't say why."

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know, I mean she seemed pretty sincere when she apologized yesterday." She said on a shrug.

"Well, I still don't trust her. I'd feel better if I came along."

She sighed and looked back to her text book. "Yeah, me too."

Class ended twenty minutes later, and Arnold was still suspicious of Helga's meeting with Lila. But she agreed to let him come with her, so if Lila was going to pull something, she'd have to go through him.

* * *

Helga sat in her last class of the day, keeping her guard up ever since she received that text message from Lila wanting to meet with her. Mr. Meredith was handing back their quizzes from the week before, and Helga was too preoccupied to be worried about her grade, until she received her quiz. Nothing more than a big message written in red ink, reading 'See me'. She sighed heavily, and waited for the class to end.

The bell rang ten minutes later, and Helga collected her stuff, and headed over to Mr. Meredith's desk. "You wanted to see me?"

"Ah, yes Ms. Pataki. I was just a bit concerned about your grade on our last quiz."

"Well, intervals aren't exactly my strong suit, Mr. Meredith."

"And I was hoping you'd help me to change that. I'm going to get straight to the point. I want you to get a tutor."

Helga shook her head to make sure she heard him right. "A tutor?"

"Yes, now I already spoke to someone, and he agreed to meet with you on Tuesday's and Thursday's after school for twenty minutes to help you out. He's my best student in my AP class, and he should be able to give you some help. So, you can head to your locker and put away your books, and then come back here in about... ten minutes?"

"Uh... do I have a choice in the matter?"

"I don't think I gave you one, no."

Helga sighed heavily, and nodded her head. "Alright." She dragged her feet out of the classroom and over to her locker, where Arnold was already waiting for her, the same dreamy look in his half lidded eyes, and a soft smirk playing across his lips, the same lips she now had exclusive rights to. She smirked back at the thought, and quickly made her way over to him. He noticed her approach and smiled. She stepped into him and kissed him quickly. "Hey,"

"Hey, ready to meet Lila?"

"Yeah... about that. Mr. Meredith is making me get a tutor because of my last quiz grade, and I have to meet with him after school today." Helga informed him, opening her locker and shoving her books in.

"So, you want me to go for us? Get her to leave you alone?"

"If you feel you have to..." She shrugged.

"Alright, I'll let you know what happens. Call me when you're done?"

"Sure," She smiled back and closed her locker, then stepped into him again after he opened up his arms to her. They hugged for a minute, then stepped back, only to have Arnold lean down and kiss her softly, but passionately. Luckily, he was supporting her by his hands on the small of her back, pressing her into him slightly. He released her, and smiled warmly.

After he turned around, and was out of sight, Helga turned around, and made her way back into the music room. As she stepped through the door, hearing the sound of a familiar sounding song being played on the piano, she stepped in fully, to see an unexpected face sitting at the piano, a content smile on his face. Helga leaned against the wall next to the door, and tried to place where she had heard the song before. "Where do I know that from?"

Ian looked back at her, but didn't stop playing. "_So you were born, and that was a good day. Some day you will die and that is a shame, but somewhere in the between, you live a life of which we all dream, and nothing and no one will ever take that away." _He sang.

"Oh yeah..." Now recognizing the song as a Streetlight Manifesto song, one of her favorites, she made her way over to the piano, and started to hum to horn part. He stopped playing after another minute, and looked back up at her. "So you're my tutor?"

"It would appear so. Mr. Meredith said you were having trouble with intervals?"

"And everything else for that matter..." She added as Ian stood up and walked over to her.

They worked together for the next twenty minutes, going over her quiz, and luckily, Ian was able to explain it in a way that she understood, giving her tricks that Mr. Meredith never had. After a while, and a few questions from Ian, she was a little better at relative minor. Ian was sitting back down at the piano, playing the same song he was when she walked in, and continued asking her questions. "D major..." He shot out.

Helga thought about it for a minute, and answered. "B minor..."

"_So you were born, and that was a good day. Some day you will die and that is a shame," _Came a voice from the door way, and they both turned around to find Kelly dancing her way into the room. She continued to sing until she stopped behind Ian and put her arms around his neck, rocking from side to side to the tempo of the melody Ian was playing.

Helga smiled at the sight. "Are we done?"

"Yeah, we are." Ian agreed, and stood up from the piano bench and taking Kelly's hand.

"Well, I'm off then." Helga started for the door.

"You need a ride?" Kelly asked from behind.

"No, I have to meet Arnold at the cafe. Lila wanted to talk to me about something, and he went in my place."

"You just let me know how it goes down, because I'm saving that pictyre until she pulls something else." Kelly said as her and Ian started for the door behind her.

"I'll let you know, Kel..." Helga said, turning around to bid her friends farewell.

"Okay, I'll see you later, Hell cat." Kelly stepped forward and gave Helga a hug goodbye.

"See you later." Helga started for the door, and dug out her phone to call Arnold.

"Hey Helga," He greeted her.

"Hey, what'd Lila want?"

"Wanted to try and justify herself. I took care of it, she would be bothering us anymore."

"Aw, that's a shame. I was kind of looking forward to ripping her a new one."

"I know you were, but the best thing to do is just to let it go. She just wants attention. So, you want to meet me here, maybe go back to the boarding house and hang out for a while?"

"Sure, I'd like that, I just have to stop by my house for a bit to drop my stuff off."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit."

They said their good byes, and hung up. Helga ran outside hoping to catch Ian and Kelly before they left. Thankfully, she caught them by his car, lips locked as he leaned back against the trunk of his car. "Hey, mind giving me a ride home?"

Ian looked up at her, hair a bit messy, and blinked. "Yeah, sure."

Kelly giggled and sashayed over to the passenger side and slipped herself in. They drove off in the direction of her house, and Helga was lost in thought as they slowly approached her house. "Since when did you're parents drive a pink Sebring?" Kelly asked from the front seat.

"They dont..." Helga replied in a cold tone, as she looked out the windshield to see what she was talking about.

"Then who the hell does?" Ian asked, as he looked over the car.

"My sister..."

* * *

**A/N: I know I haven't gone into detail what happened between Olga and Helga, but I will in the next chapter. Just stay tuned, and all will be explained! But, let me know what you think happened in a review! It's always good to hear your ideas, some of them might be better than my own. Thanks for reading! **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I know that this chapters kind of short, but it's kind of a doozie, if you know what I mean. Maybe you don't, but judge for yourself by reading and reviewing! :)**

* * *

Arnold stepped into the cafe, and forwent the lengthy line of people waiting to get served, and began to search the faces sitting at the tables for Lila. Sitting in the back corner, wearing a baggy hoodie, spinning the paper cup in her hands, was Lila, looking rather forlorn. He walked over to her and stood at the edge of the table, until she took notice. "Arnold? What are you doing here, where's Helga?"

"Busy..." He put simply as she looked back down at her cup. "What do you want, Lila?" He asked darkly.

Lila looked off to the side and brought her fingers up to rest against her mouth. "I wanted a chance to explain."

"What is there to explain? You humiliated Helga in front of the entire school, and just because someone paid you back for it I don't think she'll let you off the hook that easily."

"Can you just... sit down for a minute? So we can talk?" Arnold eyed her for a minute before deciding, pulling out the chair besides him and sitting down. "I know that you won't believe me, but I am sorry... for what I did."

"You're right, I don't believe you."

"And I know you're probably thinking that I'm coming up with a way to get her back for what happened, but I should probably thank her."

"What do you mean?"

"When that paint bomb went off in my face, and I ran out of school, and everybody was laughing at me, it was a bit of a wake up call for me. I thought that people respected me, that I was popular. But they just laughed at me. I could even see Rhonda laughing at me. It was then that I realized that all these people I thought were my friends didn't care at all. No one came looking for me, no one called me to see how I was doing, the only text messages I got were humiliating pictures of myself."

"You're out of luck if you're trying to get me to feel sorry for you, Lila." He interjected.

"That's not what I'm trying to do!" Lila said frantically, as she finally made eye contact with a tear in her eye. "I'm just trying to apologize. I was jealous of Helga... with you. I wanted to get her back, for steeling you from me."

"You never had me, Lila. And I don't mean to crush your spirits but I don't think you ever will."

"So... that's it then? There's no chance?" She asked him, looking up at him.

"No, there's not. You need to move on... just like I did." Arnold stood up from the table and pushed his chair back in. "I would appreciate it if you left Helga and I alone." She didn't reply, instead just kept her sorrowful gaze down at the lid of her cup. Arnold turned around and made his way out onto the street, just as his phone began to ring in his pocket. He dug it out and read the caller ID, saying it was Helga. After talking for a minute, he invited her back to the boarding house, and was inwardly thrilled when she agreed.

Making his way back home, he stepped through the door, and called out to see if anyone was home. "They're at another publishing meeting, short man." His grandpa called from the kitchen.

"Another one? Didn't they just have one last week?" He asked, coming into the kitchen.

"Yeah, they said they would be back in about an hour though."

"Okay, I invited Helga over for a while, I hope that's okay." Arnold said, making his way out of the kitchen. Hearing no objections, he made his way up to his attic room. He threw down his back pack down by his couch, and checked his phone.

Ten minutes later, he looked at his phone again for the time, and to see if she had messaged him, but saw that she hadn't. He sighed and decided to meet her half way. He made his way back down stairs and called out to his grandfather just as he was heading out the door, "I'll be back in a few minutes Grandpa!" Arnold shut the door behind him and hopped down the stairs of his stoop and started for Helga's house. A few minutes after departing from his house, his phone began to ring in his pocket, and thinking it was Helga returning his call, he dug his cell phone back out and read the caller ID, only to have it show 'Ian'.

"Hello?" He answered.

"Hey dude, I just dropped off Helga at her place. She wanted me to call you and tell you she won't make it to your place."

"Why did she have you call me?" He asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think it has something to do with her sister being back in town or something."

"Her sister?!" Arnold stopped dead in his tracks. "What about her sister?"

"Not sure, I just went to drop her off, and saw this pink convertible outside, and she said it was her sisters. She got out and told me to call you to tell you she wouldn't be able to make it."

"Oh god, okay, thanks Ian."

"No problem, dude." After Ian hung up, Arnold quickly walked to Helga's, hoping to get there before things got out of hand.

* * *

Helga's fist tightened by her side as she passed by the froo froo looking car parked outside her curb, knowing very well who it belonged to. She took a deep breath before jumping up the stairs of her stoop, and throwing open her front door. As she quickly made for the stairs to put her stuff away and get out, she felt her frustration boil inside of her when she heard her name, or rather a name called out. "Olga! Get in here little lady!" Her father's voice boomed from the living room.

She groaned in frustration, and slouched against the wall next to the stair case. She jumped down the two steps she had ascended and stepped into the living room, where her father sat in his ratty old chair, along with Marian and Olga on the couch. "What, Bob?" She spat, making her lack of patience clear.

"Hi baby sister," A small, airy voice came from over the couch. Helga heard it, but decided to pay it no mind, and simply crossed her arms and waited for a response from her father.

"Can we make this quick? I'm needed somewhere... _else._" She hissed, still waiting for a response.

Bob stood up from his chair and turned to Helga, who was not batting an eye lash at his very imposing stature, she simply stood there with her arms crossed and an indifferent look on her face. "We're sending you to a private school for the rest of your senior year. Olga came home to drive you there. So go back you're bags, you're leaving in the morning."

Helga, not at all phased by his news, simply looked up at him, and uttered "No," and stood, waiting for him to explode.

"You listen, little lady! I'm going to give you to the count of three to get up there and pack your bags!" Bob shouted.

"You can count till your tongue bleeds, I'm not leaving Hillwood." She said in a calm voice.

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not."

"But baby sister, this is the same school I went to when I was your age. It has such a nice campus, and everybody is..."

"I don't care if the streets are paved with gold. I'm not leaving Hillwood." Helga replied, not even glancing at Olga.

"But Helga..." Olga began.

"Shut up Olga!" She yelled back, sending a deadly glare towards her older sister.

"You watch your mouth!" Bob snapped, pointing a warning finger at her, which didn't phase Helga at all.

"Oh please! My worse nightmare is that I end up anything _like _Olga! Well, here's a news flash, _Bob!_ I like who I am. While I know no one in this family may not, the only thing that matters is how I feel about myself. And I got to be who I am with no help at all from any of you slack jawed neanderthals." Helga spat, her patience now run out. "I can't believe you're trying this again!" She said, taking a threatening step towards Olga. "Wasn't once enough for you?! Why can't you accept the fact that I don't want to be like you Olga? And despite the popular consensus, you are _not perfect!_ Or should I tell Bob about that little secret you told me about?"

Helga watched as Olga's eyes widened in horror, mirroring her stiff posture. "Helga, not in front of Daddy..." She whispered.

"Oh no, it's a lovely little tale about a girl going to Stanford on scholarship."

"Helga..." Olga pleaded.

"One night, she gets invited to a sorority party, and ends up meeting someone, who shall remain nameless simply because she never bothered to _ask. _Next thing she's aware of is the little plastic stick that just turned blue."

"Helga," Olga tried once more, as tears began to fill her eyes.

"How dare you drag your sister through the mud!" Bob shouted over her.

"Oh, I never said my story was finished. The next day, she's sitting in a plastic chair in the waiting room of a free abortion clinic just outside South Central. Since she was too ashamed to tell you, and since she was too much of a coward to accept the responsibility, and since she couldn't for the life of her remember who she had sex with, she dumped her problems on me. And she repays me by trying to rip me away from the only people that have ever even remotely shown any interest in my life, and I sure as hell ain't talking about these to chimpanzees you call parents."

"Helga, I told you that in confidence." Olga said in a whisper.

"And I told you, I'm not leaving!"

"Yes, you are!" Bob said, snatching Helga's arm. Helga reacted quickly by twisting her arm around, and throwing her open palm into his forearm, dislodging herself from his grip. _I knew those self defense classes would come in handy one day, _she thought as she stepped back.

"Here, I'll make it easy on you all. I'm leaving. And if I were you, I wouldn't stand around with your thumbs up your asses waiting for me to come back. But please, be my guest." Helga stomped angrily toward the steps, where her backpack was, and snatched it.

"You walk out that door, and you're not my daughter!" Bob shouted as she made her way over to the door.

"Daddy!"

"B, no!"

Helga simply flung the door open, and shot a glare over to Bob. "What else is new?" She spat, as she slammed the door behind her. Helga flung her back pack on, and made her way quickly down the stairs of her stoop, not even bothering to look back. As her mind was bombarded with angry and hostile thoughts towards the people she used to call family, she wasn't concerned about where she would go for the night, what she would do, but she wasn't just making a statement by walking out on them. She needed to do it, for her.

It wasn't until she was a block away from her house that she began to slow down her pace, which was previously a march. She took a deep breath, and ran a hand through her hair, still trying to wrap her head around what walking out had meant. "Helga?" A voice asked in front of her. She had been so wrapped up in her mind that she didn't pay attention to which way she had turned down the street, but it apparently lead her towards Arnold's, who was currently standing in front of her, looking back at her with a deep look of concern. It only took a split second for her to look up and see who it was, but she didn't stop. She kept walking towards him and slammed into him, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso.

Arnold quickly acted by wrapping his arms around her shoulders and running one hand up and down her upper back, obviously trying to calm her down. _Stay strong, stay strong, you can't break down in front of him. _ She scolded herself the longer she stood in his arms. "Hey," He said quietly.

She pulled back and looked in his eyes, that half lidded gaze, matched with that soft smirk that she fell in love with looking back down at her. "Why don't we head back to the boarding house?" He suggested.

Helga looked down at the space between them, only consisting of a few inches, and tried to begin to explain herself. "Arnold, I..."

"You can explain when you're ready." He silenced her. She looked back up to him, and let the tightness in her shoulders call, letting her body relax when he took away the possibility of him having a bad reaction. She nodded, and he smiled back, taking her hand and leading her down the street.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So, here it is, next chapter. And in one day too! I kind of felt bad because the last one was so short. This one is a little longer, but since it's in one day, it makes me feel a little better.**

* * *

"They what?" Arnold asked, surprised to say the least at Helga's news.

"They called Olga down to drive me there, but I walked out. And I'm pretty sure Bob disowned me in the process." She replied, looking down at her hands as she leaned forward on her elbows, sitting next to him on his couch.

"So, you're sure you're not going back?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm sure." She said confidently. There was a moment of pause where he tried to figure out something reassuring to say, but he couldn't come up with anything before she was continuing. "I'd rather spend the night out on the street, than have to go back there. They'd probably kick me out anyway. I told Bob what Olga told me when she tried to convince me to go."

"You mean... about..." He hesitated to see if he knew for sure what she was talking about, but she stopped him with a nod of her head. "Helga," He reached over to her and wrapped his hand around hers. "You're not sleeping on the streets. In case you haven't noticed, you're sitting in a boarding house that has plenty of room."

Helga nodded again sadly, then scooted over to him, and laid her head down onto his shoulders. He responded by wrapping his arm around her shoulders and resting his head upon hers, rubbing her upper arm in a soothing motion. "Arnold..." She said softly. He hummed in acknowledgement, and she lifted her head off his shoulders, but kept her gaze locked down onto their entwined hands. "You know me pretty well, so you probably know that I would feel like a bit of a burden if I were to stay here."

"Hey," He gently pressed up on her chin with a finger to lift her eyes up to his. "You know me pretty well too, right? So you know that I'm _not _letting you sleep out on the street just to keep your pride in tact, when we have three fully furnished bedrooms right here." Helga let her eyes drift shut and her head sink down a bit, and he responded by brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, and pressing his lips to her forehead.

"What about your parents? I mean... having your girlfriend living with you? Something tells me that they won't take too kindly to that idea." Helga said, looking down at her lap.

Arnold let out a small chuckle before speaking. "Helga, my parents have known you for years. And they've spent the better part of two decades helping a tribe of people in another country. I think the least they could do is help out my girlfriend, whom I have known pretty much my whole life, when she needs a place to stay. Besides," He wrapped his arm back around her shoulders and pulled her into him. "Something tells me they always wanted me to be a girl anyway. My mom always wanted someone to do girly things with, and grandma's mind is kind of gone lately, and the only other female around is Suzie Kokoshka, and she always works late." Helga eyed him for a minute, still not buying his argument. "I'll talk to them, don't worry." Arnold got to his feet, pressing another kiss to her hair as he stood up, and looked back as he headed for the door. "I'm not letting them kick you out."

He opened the door to his room, and was out of sight as he hopped down the stairs. Helga watched the doorway for a minute before bringing her knees up to her chest, and wrapping her arms around them. As much as she tried to tell herself that her life was not falling apart, a million thoughts contradictory to that one were whirling around in her head. What would she wear, where would she sleep, would it really be a good idea to live with her boyfriend, who just so happens to be the boy of her lifelong dreams?

She sighed deeply and laid her forehead down against her knees.

* * *

Arnold took a deep breath before stepping onto the living room, where his parents sat on the couch, watching TV. He had a good argument planned, because he knew that they would be very skeptical of having his girlfriend live with them. "Mom, Dad?" He called their attention, stopping just next to the TV.

"What is it, son?" His father asked, quickly turning off the TV when he noticed his son's serious stance.

Miles and Stella both sat up straight and watched him with slightly concerned eyes. Arnold let out another breath, and moved around to the front of the coffee table, and sat down, to meet them at eye level. "Something happened with Helga."

"What happened?" His mother asked quickly, probably assuming the worst, which knowing his mother, could be anything.

"When she went home this afternoon, and her dad told her that he was sending her to a private school across up in New England. Helga said that she wasn't going, and then they got into an argument, which led to her walking out, and to Bob disowning her."

Both his parents looked back at him with deep worry in their eyes, as his father leaned forward on his forearms. "He disowned her?"

"Yeah. She pretty much just ran away from home." Arnold paused to summon the courage to say what he was about to say. He let out a sharp breath and looked his father in the eye. "She needs a place to stay."

Miles looked back to Stella, and leaned back into the couch. "Arnold, having your girlfriend living here... it..."

"I can guarantee you that if she doesn't stay here, she will sleep in the street."

"Arnold, you can't really believe that..." His mother began.

"I know her, Mom. She'd rather sleep beside a dumpster than have to go crawling back to her father on her hands and knees, begging for forgiveness, and that's exactly what she will do if she doesn't stay here. It will be more of a challenge to get her to accept the help, than it will be to give it to her."

"Arnold," His father began. "She maybe seventeen, and an adult, but she's still a minor, and we're not her legal guardians."

"If she were to go to any court in the country, I guarantee you that they would grant her emancipation. She's practically been taking care of herself since she was a kid anyway. And her eighteenth birthday is only in two months, and I really don't think her father cares enough to go through the trouble to get her back under his heel just to prove a point."

His father sighed and sat back in his place on the couch, looking over to his wife, who had a soft smile playing across her face. "Alright," Arnold felt a rush of relief wash through him in that moment, "but, she is to sleep in the third bedroom, and you are not too old for me to do bed checks."

He gave his father an indifferent look, "Dad, we _just _started dating. And I told you before, I'm _not _going to take advantage of her like that. If one day," his mother shot him a slightly scared look, "in the _distant _future, Helga decides that she wants to be with me in that way, then I'm not going to force her decision."

Miles smiled proudly at his son, and stood up, with Arnold following, getting to his feet in front of him. Miles placed his hand on his son's shoulder and smiled. "Why don't you go get Helga, and bring her down. It's almost time for dinner." Miles made his way out of the kitchen, leaving Stella to step in front of her son and step into him, hugging him.

"This means a lot to me, Mom. Thank you." He said, hugging his mother back.

"Well, we can't let her sleep out on the street, when we have three fully furnished bedrooms right here, can we?" She said, stepping away and following her husband. He gave her a quizzical look, briefly wondering if she had been listening to their conversation upstairs. He shook away the thought and quickly made his way back upstairs.

He stepped into his room to find Helga still sitting on his couch, her legs curled up to her chest, her head buried in the cove that they created. He slowly sat back down next to her, and placed a gentle hand on her back to get her attention. She snapped her head up to him once his hand met her back, and smiled sadly over slightly reddened eyes. "Hey," He greeted.

"Hi," She whispered, uncurling her legs.

"Come on," He said, standing back up, and offering her his hand. She looked up at him with an arched brow. "Let me show you to your room." She gave a feigned smiled and took his hand, getting to her feet. He led them down stairs to the bedroom he had brought her to the night of the concert, and opened the door, and led her inside.

He turned on the over head light, and let her step inside. She meandered into the middle of the room, eying the slightly blank room, suddenly turning back to him after a minute. "I don't have anything to wear."

"I thought of that, and I have a few ideas, one of which you might not be too fond of. The first one is I can call Ian and Kelly and get them to break into your room and pack a suitcase, 'cause something tells me they've had to do that before. And the next is I can get my parents to take you out shopping tonight."

"Arnold, I couldn't ask your parents to go out and buy me a whole new wardrobe." She said, nervously.

"Honestly, I don't think they'd mind. After their book made the best sellers list and decided to give most of their earnings to charity, they still have plenty of money from royalties. But I didn't think you'd agree to that anyway."

"I'll... I'll think of something." Helga said, crossing her arms and looking off to the side.

"You know, if I _do _call Ian and Kelly and have them get a few things for you, they would probably be very happy to do it." He said, stepping forward, and pulling her in by a low hand on her hip.

Helga gave him a small smile, and didn't hesitate to step into him. "I'm sure they would, but Bob keeps a 38 in his nightstand for intruders, and I don't want to get them killed."

"Well, that only leaves one option... unless you can think of something else?" He looked back at her expectantly.

She let out a sharp sigh and shook her head. "Sadly, I can't. It's just, I-I..."

"I know, but helping people is what my parents live for. You'd have a harder time trying to get them _not _to take you shopping."

Helga chuckled, rather sadly, and snaked her arms around his neck, tucking her head underneath his, and letting out a deep breath. "I know it sounds sappy, but all I really need is you."

Arnold's heart soared, as he wrapped his arms fully around her. "Well, I'm right here. You're not getting rid of me that easily." Hearing her let out a low breath, he was ready to enjoy this moment for a while, until he heard the muffled noise of the boarders downstairs. "I was supposed to tell you that dinner is ready, unless you uh... want some time alone."

"Actually, I'm starving." She said with a warm smile on her face.

He returned her warm smile, and leaned down to capture her lips in a quick, but loving kiss. He pulled away and wordlessly led her downstairs. As he led them into the dining room, the table was already abuzz with the boarders, his grandparents at one end, his parents at the other, the rest of the space being filled with the tenants, leaving two spaces in the middle of the table on one side.

Dinner went by rather quickly, and once everyone's plate was clear, Miles volunteered himself and Arnold to clear the table, as the rest of the boarders vacated back to their rooms, leaving Helga and Stella at the table. Helga gave the woman a nervous smile and watched out of the corner of her eye as Stella stood up and sat herself down in the seat next to her. It was a moment before Helga got sick of the thick layer of silence and decided to cut through it. "I uh... I really appreciate what you're doing for me, Mrs. Shortman."

She heard her let out a small chuckle, just before placing a hand on her forearm. "It's no trouble, dear. Like I said before, you're always welcome here. But, why don't we discuss all this when we go out."

"I'm sorry?" Helga asked in confusion.

"Well, since you're going to be staying here, and I'm sure you have no desire to go back to your parents house, you could use some new clothes. And it's still pretty early in the night, we can head to the mall and pick out a few things."

"Mrs. Shortman, you don't have to..."

"Oh, it's not a matter of having to do anything. I _want _to." Stella leaned in closely. "Don't tell Arnold I said this, but I always wanted him to be a girl."

She let out a small chuckle and nodded. "Actually, he told me that a little bit ago."

"Well, it isn't everyday I get to go out shopping with another girl. I love my husband to death, but sometimes, I just need a girl's night out. So, what do you say?"

Hearing her genuine enthusiasm, Helga smiled over to the woman who was smiling back at her expectantly. "I'd like that, Mrs. Shortman."

Stella scoffed playfully, "For the last time, sweetie, call me Stella. Mrs. Shortman makes me feel old."


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Next chapter is up! Still kind of short, and I have yet to determine how long this fic is going to be, but I do know what I want my ending to be. But in the mean time, let me know what you think of this one!**

* * *

"You know, Stella, you really didn't have to do this." Helga reassured for probably the hundredth time since her and Stella climbed into the Packard and headed off to the Hillwood mall.

Stella simply chuckled as she wrapped a friendly arm around the girls shoulders and fell into step with her. "For the last time, sweetie, I want to."

"Well, I uh, don't exactly have the most expensive fashion taste. I could probably get everything I need at good will, that's where most of my clothes came from anyway." Helga said, pulling out her phone to send Ian a text message.

"Well why don't we look at a few other places and see what we can find." Stella replied, pointing towards the first department store they passed. Helga smiled back as she typed a text message to Ian. '_Hey, I need a favor. I'll tell you about it tomorrow. Also I'm catching a ride with Arnold in the morning. Thx, Cya later.' _

As Helga and Stella roamed around the department store for a good amount of time, picking out a few pairs of jeans, and some t-shirts, Helga found it refreshing to have a female presence in her life to look up to. Her own mother was barely deserving of pity, and Olga was nothing more than the shadow that she had to live with growing up. As they walked out of the store with two bags around Helga's arm, she was in another place when Stella decided to speak up, bringing Helga out of her mind. "You know something, if I were to pick anyone for my son, it would probably be you."

Helga had to fight not to trip over her feet at the statement. Arnold's own mother basically said that she thought that she was perfect for her son. "Really?" She asked not believing it.

"Yeah. You bring out the best in him, Helga." She said with a warm smile.

Helga fought off her rising blush and steadied her voice before speaking. "Thank you, Stella."

Stella replied by winking back at the girl as they made for the door, as most of the stores had closed up by this time, and the mall was becoming somewhat bleak. They climbed back into the Packard and were on their way back to the boarding house, with Helga's bags sitting behind her in the back seat. "I don't want you to think that you owe us anything dear. I was in a similar situation when I was your age."

Helga shook her head vigorously, looking over at the strong, successful woman sitting across from her. _She can't be serious. _"Really? Arnold never told me anything about it."

"Well, dear, that's because he doesn't know." Stella let out a sigh before continuing. "I was in college, and I had just met Arnold's father, and we were both falling for each other very hard. And I knew my parents had certain... expectations for me, and I knew they wouldn't approve of him. But, I introduced him to them anyway. And he was sweet, charming, but the fact still remained that he didn't grow up in 'our part of town', as they put it. So, they told me to break up with him, and I said no. I left that night and never looked back."

Helga tried to wrap her head around the story that Stella had just told her. "And... you don't regret it?"

"Of course not, honey!" Stella reassured her immediately, putting a hand on the girls shoulder. "I'm not saying I wasn't scared, but I knew that as long as I had Miles with me, everything would work out in the end, which eventually, it did."

There was a long moment of pause when Helga tried to summon up to courage to bring up the next topic of discussion. It was something that had been eating away at Helga vigorously ever since Arnold had told her she can stay with him. "Stella... when you left, was it hard... between you and Arnold's father?"

Stella looked over to Helga with a deep look of concern, briefly taking her eyes off the road. "What do you mean, sweet heart?"

"It's just... Arnold and I just started dating, and I'm not exactly the easiest person to live with." Helga informed quietly, staring at her hands in her lap.

"You're afraid that living together will tear you apart." Stella concluded. Helga simply nodded sadly in reply, seeing Stella gaze at her with a look of understanding as she stopped at a red light. "Well, you're a very strong young woman, Helga. Even Arnold has said as much. And I think the fact that you're addressing this shows just how much you care for him. And I've seen how he acts around you, how much he cares for you. I'm not saying it will be easy, you two will have a rough patch here and there, but you just have to let him be there for you. Now I know that you are telling yourself that it was _you _who walked out that door, so it has to be _you _that has to live with the decision and pull yourself up." Helga looked over to her in wonderment, of how easily she could understand her. Stella just sat there, with a lop sided grin and half lidded eyes that could be seen in Arnold. "But, just because you feel the need to seek comfort in another person doesn't make you weak, honey. It makes you human."

Helga let Stella's words soak in, trying to take them to heart. As a thought shot into her mind, she chuckled. "I can see where Arnold got his ability to speak to someone's heart from."

Stella laughed as she pulled to a stop outside the boarding house. "Well, when Arnold was a baby, he was quite the Momma's boy."

Helga laughed as the grabbed her bags from the back seat and climbed out of the car and followed Stella up the stairs and through the front door. Helga closed the door behind her and walked past the living, where Stella was leaning up to kiss her husband on the cheek. Helga sighed despite herself and went upstairs and into her room. She opened the door to the somewhat barren looking room, and set her bags down next to the door. She walked over to the bed and sat down, slowly looking from wall to wall.

While there were boarders on either side of her, and the most loving family she had ever come across was right down stairs, along with the boy she loved all her life on the next floor, this place somehow didn't feel like... home. She crawled back across the bed till her back was against the wall as she pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to shut it all out. As her breathing became heavier, her emotions that she had done a pretty good job of keeping in check started to claw at the back of her throat with a vengeance. She let her head fall into the cove between her chest and her knees and fight back the first silent sob. But when it broke lose, so did the first tears.

She thought she could handle abandonment, but she has just run out on her family, on her home. Just as she was about to give up and let her emotions swallow her up, she heard a tentative knock on the door. Her head shot up as her blurry and tear stained vision locked onto the door. "Helga?" A soft voice asked.

She let out a long breath before fiercely rubbing her eyes with her palms to clear the tears and make herself presentable, and called out, "Yeah?"

The door creaked open to reveal Arnold in his blue flannel pajama pants and a faded blue t-shirt. He stepped inside a step and gave her a soft smile from across the room. "Hey," he began.

She smiled back, but kept her legs curled up to her chest. "Hey," she whispered back, still trying to shake the emotion out of her voice.

"I uh, just wanted to check on you, see how you were doing?" He said, taking a few hesitant steps towards her.

Helga gave him a slow nod before replying. "I'm fine,"

"Fine?" He asked as he came to a stop at the edge of the bed and sitting down beside her.

"I will be, anyway."

Arnold slid back against the wall, but kept his hands clasped together in his lap. "I know that I've said this before, Helga, but... I'm here. And I know that you may feel like you have to, but you don't have to do this alone. I'm not doing this out of obligation. I _want _to be here for you, Helga. Just... let me know if you need anything, whatever it is."

Helga steeled herself before admitting that she needed to ask this of him, but at this moment, it was the only thing that she felt could help. She unwrapped her arms from her legs, and turned on her side slightly and wrapped them around his shoulders. "Just... hold me." She whispered against his shoulder. It wasn't a moment before she felt his arm drape over her own shoulders, as the other wrapped around her side a little awkwardly.

"That I can do." Arnold said softly in reply as his hand began to run up and down her back in a comforting motion.

Sitting there in his arms, Helga couldn't help but feel her fear and insecurities melt away. Maybe Stella was right, they would argue occasionally, there would be rough patches, but they would get through it. He wants to be there for her right? So all she needs to do is let him. It wasn't long before Helga felt herself start to drift off to sleep. "Are you alright?" He asked in a soft voice.

Helga lifted her head off his shoulder and looked up at his deep emerald eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright."

"Good," they dislodged themselves from each others arm and she leaned back against the wall. "Oh, before I forget, I found something." She watched as he climbed off the bed and went over to the slightly ajar door, and leaned down to pick something up off the floor just outside in the hall way. He walked back in, clutching a medium sized picture frame in his hands, a soft smirk playing across his lips. He stopped at the edge of her bed and handed the picture frame over to her.

"Where on earth did you find this?" She asked in a cheery voice as she gazed at the photo.

"I was just going through some old stuff while you were gone and I found it hiding in a box in the back of my closet."

"Man, this was so long ago."

"Helga, it was out sophomore field trip. It wasn't that long ago."

It was a picture of them on a field trip to the Natural History Museum. She remembers being in a particularly good mood that day for some odd reason. They had been eating lunch together since Gerald and Phoebe were too busy playing cutesie with each other. As they finished their lunch, Arnold had suggested they take a picture. So, in a slight high from being in a good mood, she agreed, and hugged his midsection as he hugged her shoulders with one arm and held the camera up high with the other. As Helga looked over at the photo now, she felt the smile of that day, that bright, unreserved smile return.

Helga set the frame down on the nightstand and stood up to snake her arms around his neck. "How do always know how to cheer me up?"

He gave her a lovable shrug in reply. "It's a gift, I guess."

She smiled brightly at him again and pushed up on the balls of her feet and kissed him lovingly. "Well, thank you."

"You're welcome, I'll see you in the morning?"

"See you in the morning." She confirmed. He smiled again and leaned down to steel one more kiss, then practically floated out of her room, giving her one more smile before he shut the door lightly behind her. She sat down on her bed again and looked over at the frame that was now sitting in the middle of her nightstand. It was almost as if it brought a new light to the room, it would be the last thing she saw at night, and the first thing she saw in the morning, them.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Wow, actually managed to finish this chapter in one day. Think I might be one a roll! Either way, here's the next chapter. And pretty soon, I'll be making time jumps, and they will vary in length, so just bare with me. In the mean time, here you are.**

* * *

"I'm warning you, Gerald, don't ask. She's been through enough without you hounding her about why she's living at the boarding house." Arnold hissed into his cell phone.

"Alright, alright, calm down. You're really stressing out over this, aren't you?"

"Oh no, it's perfectly fine having my girlfriend of all of two days living with me." He retorted sarcastically, running a hand through his damp hair. "Let's just say it's going to be a chore making sure I don't say anything stupid and make her want to leave."

"Mmm, mmm, mmm, well I'll let you deal with Pataki. I won't bug her about whatever's going on. I'll even tell Phoebes to leave it alone when I pick her up, save you a phone call, okay?"

"Thanks Gerald." He said on a sigh.

"No problem, bro. I'll be there in a half an hour."

"Later," Arnold hung up and tossed his phone down onto his bed. He had just gotten out of the shower, and was passed by Helga as she made her past him, still looking like she was asleep, and it was obvious to him that she had a rough night. So in an attempt to make things easier on her, he needed to get the 'why-are-you-living-with-Arnold' phase of questioning out of the way before it started. If she wanted to explain, then she would.

Arnold breathed another slightly anxious sigh and continued to get dressed in a t-shirt with a plaid button-up casually tossed over his shoulders. He grabbed his hat on the way out his bedroom door and hopped downstairs. He walked in the kitchen where his parents sat on either side of the table, reading different sections of the paper, while Grandma was busy with breakfast. He was greeted with a unanimous 'good morning' as he walked over to his grandmother and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Hope you're hungry, short man, your grandma's still on her western kick." His grandfather called from one side of the kitchen.

"Need all your strength if we're gonna get this herd 'cross the valley by night fall." She said from the stove.

Arnold chuckled silently as he poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Good morning, sweetie." His mother said, which called his attention since she already greeted him for the morning. He turned around and saw Helga standing in the arch way, wearing a surprised but sheepish smile. She nervously started to rub her right arm as she pulled out a seat from the small table and sat down, as Arnold stayed in his place across the kitchen, leaning against the counter. "Did you sleep alright?" His mother lovingly asked.

Helga gave them a smile, which even he could tell was feigned, "Yeah, slept great."

Arnold watched as his grandmother set down a plate in front of her, and patted the young woman on the shoulder, then went back over to the stove. Helga stared at the plate of scrambled eggs, hash browns and toast, looking as if she had never seen food before. _She must not get to eat breakfast all that often, _he concluded as his grandmother set down another plate beside Helga and waved him over. He smiled and thanked her as he went to sit down next to Helga.

He decided to stay silent as he started to eat, every once in a while casting a glance over to his right to where Helga sat, eating slowly, still looking very nervous. After a few minutes, both their plates where clear, and Arnold, being the gentleman, reached over and grabbed her plate, earning him a surprised look. He simply flashed her a smirk and went over and put them in the sink. He walked back over to the counter and poured himself one more small glass of orange juice, being careful to avoid staring at her from across the room, she looked uncomfortable enough as it is.

After a while of what Arnold felt to be comfortable silence, he looked over to the clock and saw that Gerald would be here to pick them up in about five minutes. "Gerald's going to be here any minute, so we better get going." Arnold said, walking over to the sink to put his glass on top of their empty plates.

"Okay," She replied lightly, getting up from the table and pushing her chair in. "Thanks for breakfast Gertie." She said to his grandma with a smile.

" 'Twasn't nothing, Elanor." She replied with a wave of her hand. Helga simply continued to smile as she strolled out of the kitchen and upstairs to get her back pack. Arnold shook his head in confusion as he followed her out.

"What did she just call you?" He asked as he walked next to her up the stairs.

"It's a long story." They grabbed their stuff and were out the door, with Arnold's family wishing them a good day as they went. He sighed a sigh of contentment as he sat down on the first step of his stoop, and it wasn't a moment before Helga followed him.

He looked over, and noticed the faraway look in Helga's eyes as she picked at one of her finger nails. "Hey," He said lightly, bumping her side. She looked over to him with a raised brow, "You alright?"

She nodded with a sad smile, "Yeah, I'm just not used to the whole... family thing. Last time my family ever had a meal together was when Olga went on her vegan streak in seventh grade, and that didn't end well."

"I know it's a lot to get used to, but we're all here for you Helga."

"That's the thing," She said, anxiously trying to explain herself. "I've always been on my own, always having to pull my own weight, and I've been pretty good at it, so far. But now, I walk into the kitchen in the morning and I get breakfast without even asking for it? I just... can't help but feel a little... pampered. I'm just not used to any of it."

"I'm sure, if you wanted to, you could ask for some stuff to do. With my parents always running around, going to publishing meetings, there's always something that needs to be done around here."

"I just hate feeling like a free loader."

Arnold was going to argue, but a honk of a car horn pulled him out of his thoughts. Gerald pulled up and Phoebe waved at them from the passenger side, as they climbed off the stairs. Arnold went down the steps, and climbed in the driver side, while Helga climbed in beside him on the passenger side. "Good morning, Helga." Phoebe greeted her friend from the front seat.

"Hey Pheebs." She answered back. The drive to school was made in silence, and after a while, they were pulling into a spot in the school parking lot, and climbing out of the car, just as Ian's SUV was pulling into a space across from them. As Gerald and Phoebe made their way into school, Arnold had stayed behind with Helga to greet Ian and Kelly for the morning.

"That's not our new song, Ian." They heard Kelly say to Ian with a blithe look on her face.

"Come on, it makes perfect sense though, I _am _a hopeless romantic."

"I know that, but just because it's a Bouncing Souls song does not mean it can be our new song."

Ian let out a playful sigh, as he grabbed onto Kelly's hand. "Hey guys!" Kelly greeted them with her usual bright smile.

"Hey Kel," Helga turned to Arnold for a moment, "Hey, can you give us a minute? I need to talk to them about something."

Arnold gave her a smirk and nodded, making his way past her, placing a kiss on her cheek as she went.

Once Arnold was out of ear shot, Helga turned back to Ian and Kelly. "You know how I asked you for a favor last night?"

"Yeah," Ian said.

"I hate to ask this, but... I don't know what else to do."

"What is it, Helga?" Kelly asked, her concern evident in her voice.

Helga let out a deep breath before continuing. "I need you to break into my house."

"I'm sorry?" Ian asked, obviously not believing her.

"My parents tried to ship me off to a private school yesterday, and I walked out on them, and now I'm staying at Arnold's boarding house. But I didn't get a chance to take anything with me, and I can't go back there."

"Listen, Helga..."

"What is it you need?" Kelly interrupted him.

"Kelly..." Ian began.

"No, no, you just go to class, I'll take care of this." She said, pushing him towards the entrance to the school. Ian simply looked back with a worried furrow in his brow and continued to class. "Now, what is it you need?" Kelly asked again.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Hey, I had to break back into my house plenty of times back home. So just tell me what it is you need, and I'll take care of it."

Helga sighed a heavy sigh, "In my closet, in the back, there's a pink show box. It has a few things that I promised myself I wouldn't lose. They're important to me. I don't need anything else, just that box. My dad doesn't get off work until about seven, and my mom is usually passed out by noon, so if you go right after school, then you should be able to get in without any hassle as long as you use the fire escape that leads to my bedroom window. Kelly, I wouldn't ask you to do this if..."

"Hey, hey, say no more. I'll take care of it. In case you didn't know, I kind of ran away from home to be with my boyfriend too." Kelly held out her arms to her and Helga let a genuine smile appear on her face as she stepped into her and hugged her tightly. They walked up to the entrance and saw Ian engaged in a light conversation with Arnold. Kelly flashed Ian a grin and grabbed onto his hand and walked inside, with Helga doing the same with Arnold.

* * *

The day went on as per the usual, and luckily, her change of address seemed to be kept under wraps. She did ask Phoebe to Slausens after school to hang out, and she agreed, saying that they haven't had a chance to hang out, just the two of them in a while, and Helga knew that she owed her best friend the whole story.

She had just walked out of the music room, earning herself a smile and a wave from Mr. Meredith, who was quite impressed with her improvement that day in class. She proceeded to her locker and switched out her books for the ones she needed to take with her for the day, and found Phoebe waiting for her. "Hi Helga," She chirped with a bright smile.

"Hi Phoebs, I just have to see Arnold before we leave." She informed just as she saw him walking down an adjacent hallway, his usual lopsided grin aimed back at her. He walked straight up to her, and placed a light kiss on her awaiting lips, and pulled back after a long moment, leaving his hands low on her hips. "Hey, Phoebe and I are going to go to Slausen's so I'll meet you back home in a little while."

"Okay, have fun."

"Thanks," She said, as she pushed up to place one last kiss on him before he left. The walk to Slausen's was short and pretty soon, they were seated at in a booth next to a window with two small bowls of ice cream each. "So, I'm assuming you know about what happened." Helga began.

"I know the synopsis, yes."

"Which would be?"

"That your parents tried to send you to a private school in New England, but you said that you weren't going and walk out."

Helga chuckled sadly, "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

"I'm so sorry, Helga." Phoebe said in a small voice.

"Honestly, I should have seen it coming. I wasn't even surprised when Bob told me to go upstairs and pack my bags. I wasn't even surprised when he disowned me. I still feel as if I haven't fully wrapped my head around everything that's happened."

"It would be remarkable if you could so fast, Helga."

"I know, but it's _me. _I knew what I was getting myself into when I walked out. It was just chance that I ran into Arnold. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't."

"Are you alright with the idea of living in such close quarters with him?"

Helga let out a heavy sigh and let her shoulders fall as she slumped back against the booth. "Not really. I mean we _just _started dating, and it's been great so far, but I just have this fear that one day I'm going to wake up and he's going to be fed up with me."

"Why would he do that, Helga?"

"Well, even I know how much of a bitch I can be. And I can't help but feel that our relationship is being put to the test before we even really get a chance to just... be together."

Phoebe leaned forward and placed a gentle hand onto Helga's forearm. "You're not giving yourself enough credit, Helga, or Arnold for that matter. Arnold is crazy about you, and I know for a fact that you are crazier about him. You'll find a way to make it work, Helga. You just have to be a little more confident about it."

"I know, you're right, that's what I keep telling myself, even Stella told me that."

"Well, then the consensus therefore is that it's going to be alright." Phoebe said with a confident smirk. Helga laughed just as she heard the bell above the door chime. She looked over and saw Kelly breeze through the door, with a wistful smile on her face, as she pranced up to the booth where they were sitting. She was silent as she looked over to Helga, holding something behind her back.

"Hi Kelly," They each said. She remained silent as she slowly moved whatever it was behind her back and placed it on the table. Helga looked down in somewhat of a state of shock as she saw the small pink shoe box that was now sitting on the table. "Kelly!" Helga jumped up from the table and wrapped her arms around the girl in joy. "I can't believe you actually got it."

"Hey, any time I get to use the knowledge of how to make a ninja mask out of a t-shirt is a good time to me." Kelly said as she took a seat next to Phoebe.

"Helga, is that what I think it is?" Phoebe said knowingly.

"Yep, it is." Helga replied, running a soft hand over the lid.

"What is it, if you don't mind my asking?" Kelly asked.

"It's my Arnold box."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Unlike most people, who simply put how far forward they jumped in the story, I like for you to figure it out through the story itself. This one is pretty self explainitory but let me know if it's at all confusing.**

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The first snowfall of the year was always a big day for Arnold, sort of a mile marker for the year. It wasn't much this year, but the inch and a half of snow that had accumulated over night made it the first _real_ snowfall of the year, instead of just a few flurries here and there. It wasn't enough to get called off of school, not by a long shot, but people were always more careful when the first real snowfall hit. He could be included in this since it would be the first time driving in snow.

He had gotten his car three weeks earlier, and had started driving himself and Helga to school every morning, but kept his job with Mr. Potts for gas money, which now sucked up most of his pay check, leaving just a little bit to put into his now empty savings account. He knew that when he went down in the morning today, he would get a fairly long lecture about driving in the snow from his parents, and he would respond by reassuring them that he would be fine. He sighed at the thought of having to sit through a lecture from his parents about driving as he tugged a hoodie over his head.

He hopped downstairs from his room and started down the hall way, where he saw Helga just coming out of her room.

It had been a month and a half since she moved in with him, and things were going pretty well, all things considered. He tried his best not to smother her, and give her space, knowing she needed it, but also tried his best not to be too distant. There were afternoons when they'd come home, and go to their rooms and not see each other till dinner, and there were other afternoons, when they'd come home attached at the hip, go up to his room and listen to music. He even got her listening to some of _his _favorites, such as The Planet Smashers, and the older Mad Caddies, but she had agreed to listen to his music, so long as he agreed to listen to hers. So, there were times when they'd listen to bands like No Comply, or Rancid, and he didn't mind.

As Helga closed the door to her room, he smiled warmly and stepped over to kiss her good morning. "Morning," He said in a low voice.

"Morning," She replied with a smile, taking a step past him and making her way down the hall and down the stairs. It never ceased to amaze him how well acclimated she has become. It could be a disturbing thought that his girlfriend was a part of his family now, but, his parents were treating her like their own daughter. He smiled and followed her downstairs, settling for cereal this morning.

"So, Arnold, you need to be careful this morning, driving to school." Miles said as he poured himself another cup of coffee. "Go slow, and if you start to hydroplane, whatever you do, do _not _slam on the breaks, it only makes it worse. And don't peel out or anything as you start off a stop. And..."

"Dad, we'll be fine." He interrupted.

"Just making sure, son." Miles replied, ruffling his son's hair as he passed.

"But please do be careful, honey, the plows still haven't made it here yet." His mother said from across the table.

"I will, Mom. Speaking of which, we better get going." Arnold said, just finishing off his cereal.

"Alright," Helga got up to follow him to the sink, as they went out into the hall to grab their backpacks. He grabbed his keys from the table beside the door, and opened the front door, to find his grandfather standing at the top of the stoop, sprinkling salt on the steps, which hadn't taken effect yet.

"Be careful, kids, these steps are a death trap in the winter."

"Thanks, Grandpa, we will." Arnold said as he slowly descended the steps.

"Thanks Phil," Helga said with a warm smile as she followed. Arnold got down to the bottom and offered Helga his hand to help the rest of the way, and she gladly took it, and led her over to his car, probably humoring him as he opened the passenger side door for her.

His car wasn't anything special, a 1998 Toyota Camry that they managed to find at a used car lot. He slipped around the other side of the car and got in the driver side, and started the car, brushing the snow off his windshield with the wipers. "It's my turn." Helga said from the side.

Arnold snapped his head around to her in astonishment. "It is not," He challenged.

"It is too, you picked yesterday!"

"I did not, you picked yesterday."

"Well, lets just see about that." She said with a grin as she hit the eject button on the CD player. "Ha," She shouted as she held up a copy is The Slackers, "it's my turn." He sighed and shook his head, smiling nonetheless, as she grabbed her CD case and flipped through a few pages. She slipped in a CD and he smiled over at her as she picked a Streetlight Manifesto CD. He put the car in gear and pulled off slowly into the street.

In a short time, they were pulling into an empty parking space at Hillwood High. He looked at the clock on the dashboard, and saw that they had a few minutes before the doors opened, and he knew that she would be reluctant to wait outside in the snow when the car had just started to heat up. "Looks like we have a few minutes to kill," He said casually, playing with the leather stitching of his steering wheel. He looked over to Helga and she was eying him with a slightly excited look, pursing her lips, as she gave him a sharp nod.

Arnold shot over and crashed their lips together, cupping her cheek with his hand. Their lips worked together effortlessly, as he felt her tongue scout its way into his mouth. "Mmm, I've been waiting for this all week." She spoke against his lips.

"It wasn't my idea that you get a job." He said in a breathy voice against her lips.

She kissed him for a long moment before pulling away with a very dreamy look in her big blue eyes. "Well, we both have tomorrow off, and the snow isn't supposed to let up anytime soon."

"Mmm, I like the way you think Pataki." He said playfully as he slowly moved in for another kiss.

She giggled as she let her eyes drift shut. "Yeah, we could spend all... day..." she placed her lips against his in a teasing kiss, "reading."

He pulled back with a feigned look of insult. "Not exactly what I had in mind."

"Well, I _suppose _I could make time for you." He chuckled as he moved in again to continue kissing her. They continued to kiss lazily until he shot a glance at the clock again, and saw that it was time for the doors to open.

"Looks like it's time." He said on a sigh, very disappointed to have this end.

Helga also let out a sigh as she opened the door and climbed out. As they both got to their feet, they saw Ian and Kelly, climbing out of Ian's SUV, and started to laugh. Ian had his leather jacket on and zipped up all the way, with a hoodie underneath, the hood pulled over and his hands buried in his pockets, his shoulders hunched inward. Kelly didn't look much better, with two hoodies on, with both hoods pulled up, one of them looking like it was lined with fur. "They look like they're about to climb Everest." Helga chuckled.

Kelly stumbled over to Ian and smashed their sides together, and looped her arm through his, and buried her hand back in her pocket. They both looked like they were freezing. "You guys alright?" Arnold asked, is amusement very evident.

They stopped in front of them and looked up. "It's cold..." Ian muttered.

"We don't do too well with cold," Kelly mumbled.

"We're Californian." Ian weakly defended with a stiff shrug of his shoulders. Arnold and Helga both laughed and made their way up to the doors of the school, trudging through the snow without problems. But as they looked back, Ian and Kelly both looked like baby giraffes. Eventually though, they did make it to the doors.

"What's the point of wearing combat boots if you can't walk in the snow?" Helga asked as they approached.

Ian simply shot her a glare as he walked through the door that Arnold was holding open with an amused smile, trying his hardest to stifle his laughter. When they were all inside, Ian and Kelly both turned to each other and shook violently, trying to literally shake off the cold. They pulled their hoods down and started to rub each others shoulders. Arnold and Helga just laughed and continued down the hall hand in hand.

* * *

It was the end of the day, and Helga was waiting at her locker for her boyfriend to show up. The halls were quickly becoming deserted as the students quickly made their way home, anxious to begin Thanksgiving break. However, it would start off with a five hour shift at work for Helga.

She had gotten a job at a gas station, working the register three weeks ago. It was slow, and mostly mindless as many people opted to use plastic at the gas pump, instead of using cash, which Helga enjoyed thoroughly, often giving her a chance to lose herself in her own mind. She would receive her first full paycheck today, since she was off the rest of the week until the day after Thanksgiving.

At first, she asked for things to do around the boarding house, so she could feel like she wasn't hitching a free ride on the Shortman charity train. And they agreed, asking her to vacuum, or mop the kitchen, basic house work, which she didn't mind. But now that she was working, and her time was a little more scarce than it was before, the Shortman's had happily agreed to cut back on her work load.

As for things between her and Arnold, she couldn't be happier. There was a point shortly after they had started dating that was a bit rough, as Helga tried to deal with the heavily spinning rumor mill about her living situation. Luckily, she managed to find a friend in Rhonda, and truthfully explain everything, and Rhonda agreed to make the rumors stop, even though she was adamant that she wasn't the one that started them.

A benefit of their living situation, as far as school is concerned, is that they were able to finish their biology project in record time, and proudly hand it in at the end of the period today. But as for a social life, since she had started working, keeping up with her homework consumed the rest of her time, and since her boyfriend was conveniently located just upstairs, she had told herself that going out on dates was kind of pointless. However, they had spent more than a few nights up on the roof, either conversing lightly, or lazily kissing each other.

"Hey beautiful," A familiar voice called from the hall.

She snapped herself out of her daydream and looked up to see her blonde haired beau sauntering towards here with a lazy grin on his face. He approached her and kissed her lightly. "Hey."

"So Gerald and Phoebe are going out to a movie tonight and they invited us along."

"What time?"

"Eight thirty, gives us just enough time for me to pick you up from work and make it to the movie theater."

"Great, sounds fun. I don't know about you, but I could use a night out."

He chuckled and looked off to his side, over to Ian and Kelly, who were preparing themselves to face the snow once again, already zipping up their jackets. "Hey, Gerald and Phoebe wanted to know if you guys wanted to go to a movie tonight."

"Actually, we're busy." Ian informed lightly.

"You know how preppy girls get together and watch old Disney movies and sing every song at the top of their lungs? Well, we're doing the same thing, but with Tenacious D and the pick of destiny." Kelly explained with an evil smirk.

Arnold chuckled again and waved. "Have fun, you two."

They made their way out to Arnold's car and slowly pulled out of the parking lot. After pulling up to the gas station where Helga worked, he kissed her goodbye, and told her that he would be back at half past eight to pick her up.

* * *

It was the afternoon before Thanksgiving, and Stella was in the kitchen, getting things ready for the feast they would be having tomorrow as Helga approached her. She stood in the entryway for a minute before she cleared her throat to announce her presence. "Stella?" She asked, sheepishly.

Stella spun around from her place in front of the far counter, and made her way over to the nervous looking young woman, drying her hands off on the towel she had flung over her shoulder and smiling warmly. "What is it, sweetie?" Helga took a deep breath before bringing her hand out from behind her back and holding out the plain white envelope to her. "What's this?" She asked, as she flipped open the top and peered inside, finding a multitude of twenties lining the envelope, and shot Helga a genuinely confused look.

"It's rent money." Helga explained confidently.

"Helga, sweetie, you don't have to..."

"Yes, I do." She stopped her before she could hand the envelope back to her. "It's just... I know you and Miles both said repeatedly that I don't owe you anything, but... you've just been so accommodating to me and I don't think a few chores could make up for that."

Stella let her arms fall by her sides as she smiled over at Helga. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the girls shoulders and hugged her. "You're more grown up than you give yourself credit for, Helga."

"So you'll take it?" Helga asked while hugging Stella back lightly.

"Well..." Stella began as she stepped back, "I won't be happy about it, but yes." Helga gave her a warm smile as she stepped out of the room and made her way back upstairs. Stella waited until she heard her door shut before she picked up the phone, to call her husband. "Hey honey, I need you to make a stop on the way home."

"I already had to do somethings I'm not at all proud of to get everything on your list, Stella." Miles quickly urged, not at all thrilled to have gone to the store the day before Thanksgiving.

"No, it's nothing like that. I need you to stop by the bank." Stella let a sly grin form on her lips as she looked down at the envelope in her hand. "You'll never believe what just happened."


End file.
